Flashback of the Ages
by WillieG.R
Summary: *a Sukima-series Spin-off* A spell has been cast over Gensokyo. It makes adults into kids and kids to adults, and in some special cases, something different. How will this incident be solved, and by who?
1. Chapter 1

It's a warm summer night at the Misty Lake where two dark, familiar silhouettes lurk about the shore.

A girl's voice asks "so, are you ready?"

A woman's voice replies "who do you think you're talking to, darling? That master of yours?"

The girl keeps quiet for a moment, then says "if this experiment is a success, the possibilities will become endless."

The woman replies "don't forget about me~"

The girl keeps quiet for a moment, then replies "don't worry, I won't. Everything is ready now."

The woman giggles, then says "leave it to me!"

At first, nothing happens, but then there is a sudden flash of light that expands all over Gensokyo; all the way to its edges.

When the light dims down, the girl growls in frustration, then calmly says "it didn't work."

In a playful voice, the woman replies "back to the drawing board with you~"

The girl scoffs, then says "fine. I'll summon you again if I need you."

In a playful tone, the woman replies "I'll be anxiously waiting, dear. Until next time~"

* * *

Summer morning at the Hakurei Shrine.

Reimu wakes up to the sound of the cicadas on the hot morning.

She's covered in sweat, and she quickly realize her futon is also soaked.

She thinks "how annoying. So hot. Why did I have to wake up so early?"

She stretches her hands in front of herself and groans, quickly realizing her voice seems high-pitched.

She stops and opens her eyes, then realizes her hands are smaller than what she remembers them.

She screams and notices she sounds just like a little girl, and form outside her room, another little girl shouts "lady Reimu, I'm coming!"

When the girl enters Reimu's room, she's wearing Rika's exact outfit, only smaller in size, has her angel wings, looks just like Rika, but she's just a little girl.

The little girl looks around, trying her best to hold the family sword with both hands, bravely saying "don't worry, miss Reimu, I'll save you!"

Reimu jumps out of her futon, and when she, and little Rika notice they are both little girls, they gasp, point at each other, then start to scream.

Shortly after they stop screaming, a small girl, wearing Mima's clothes phases through the farthest wall and asks "hey, what's all the screaming for?"

Mima stares at little Rika and little Reimu, then they all point at each other and start to scream once again.

A tall woman wearing Suika's clothes, but having two large horns growing up from her forehead, as well as her regular horns, which look longer now, enters the room and looks around with a concerned, yet peaceful expression.

Reimu stares at her and asks "Su-Suika, is that you?"

The woman sighs and nods, then calmly says "calm down, you three. Screaming will not help now."

Reimu, Rika and Mima stare at Suika; something about her seems to calm them down.

Mima suddenly gasps and smiles, then exclaims "MAMA~~"

Suika sweats, but accepts Mima's sudden rush-hug, then Reimu says "sh-she's right. Just looking at you..."

Rika finishes Reimu's sentence with a longing tone "is like looking at our mother."

Suika sighs again, then says "you guys need to calm down, maybe take a bath and have some breakfast. I've already prepared the bath for you, and breakfast is almost ready. We'll speak while we eat, is that alright?"

Reimu nods, and although still in shock, she manages to grab some fresh clothes, and while doing so, she says "look. Even my clothes have shrunk."

Rika immediately runs to her room, then shouts "mine too~"

Suika looks at Reimu with an expression of understanding, then says "please, I know this is a lot, but hurry up. This is a mayor incident."

Reimu notices the urgency in Suika's eyes, so she rapidly grabs her fresh set of clothes and runs to the bathroom, shouting "Rika, Mima, we three will fit in the tub now, so hurry up!"

* * *

At Ail's house, Ail has just woken up, and somberly walks to the bathroom, where everything seems out of reach for him, so he flies in order to brush his teeth.

While doing so, he looks at himself in the mirror, but he's still too sleepy to realize that he has the body of a child.

After brushing his teeth, he walks down the small corridor and says "Budou~ It's time to wake up", as he passes by the storage room door, not noticing his child-like voice.

He reaches his kitchen and starts to fly in order to reach the top cabinets, reaching for ingredients to make breakfast.

After a while Ail can hear Budou's door opening and closing, then a woman's voice somberly saying "good morning, papa~"

Ail yawns and replies "good morning, Budou. I'll have breakfast ready in a moment", and still he doesn't realize he sounds like a child, or that Budou sounds like a grown woman.

Budou, who is also too sleepy to notice the change in her own voice, replies "thanks, papa."

After a while, they eat their breakfast, staring at each other from across the table, but again, they are still half-asleep and don't realize what's happening in front of them.

Finally, Ail starts to pick up the dishes, and Budou says "thanks for the meal, papa."

Finally, Ail notices something and says "you're wel... Um, hey, why am I flying to reach the table?"

Budou takes a good look at Ail, and notices he's just a child now.

Ail takes a better look at Budou, and notices she's all grown up, her wings are larger, matching her body, her hair is longer, and her chest has also grown, making her look like Sanae.

Budou points at Ail and with a shocked look on her face, she says "pa-pa-papa's a little boy!"

Little Ail points at Budou and exclaims "Y-y-you grew up already! You almost look like Sanae!"

Finally, they get close to each other, stare, then gasp.

Outside the house, the entire forest trembles when Budou and Ail scream at the same times, unsettling everything in the surrounding area.

* * *

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Suika forces Reimu, Rika and Mima to wear chicken-print bibs while they eat their breakfast.

Annoyed and humiliated, Reimu glares at Suika and says "you didn't have to make us wear this! Regardless of how we look, we are still mature."

Rika holds a spoon on her right hand while staring at Reimu with a most content smile and says "but miss Reimu, you look so cute with that."

Suika sighs and places a hand under her two new horns just above her forehead and says "speak for yourselves", and points at Mima, who has her face and her bib covered in rice and soup.

She looks back at Reimu and Rika, who continue to stare, and in an annoyed tone of voice, she asks "what'cha looking at? Want me to bop ya one?"

Suika grabs hold of Mima, as a mother would grab hold of her child, and gently start to clean her face with a moist towel, ignoring Mima's futile attempts to kick, punch and scream herself free.

Suika forces little Mima on her lap, then looks at Reimu and says "Reimu, I'll try to help as best I can, as this incident is affecting all of Gensokyo."

Reimu finishes sipping on her bowl of soup, revealing her lips covered in sauce, and while Rika quickly cleans her up, she asks "so I take it you know about this?"

Suika gently brushes Mima's head with her fingers, making Mima fall asleep on her lap, and says "I know that in the village, some adults are now kids, while some kids are the adults, though not everyone has been affected, still a large quantity has."

Rika sighs and asks "but do you know who did this?"

Suika shakes her head and says "all I know is, it seems this affects our ages, though in some cases, it's different."

Reimu stares at Suika and asks "how so?"

Suika starts to scratch Mima's head, making her moan contently, and says "at the Scarlet Mansion, that maid grew up instead. I'm not sure, but it might be the same for other special cases."

Reimu rubs her chin while thinking, then says "I'm going to have to visit that mansion. Maybe Sakuya's ability is what helped her."

Rika asks "but what if it's not?"

Reimu sighs and says "it's our only lead. We have no choice..."

A red ball mysteriously bounces out of nowhere in front of Reimu, getting her full attention and making her chase after it, happily saying "ooh, a red ball! I want to play!"

* * *

At the Moriya Shrine, the trees look a little unsettled, though full of life.

Inside the shrine are a child-like Sanae sits in front of a child-like Kanako, and a grown-up Suwako, who continues to tuck in her stomach while expanding her chest, showing off her large bust to Kanako, making her feel a bit jealous.

Sanae clears her throat and says "lady Moriya, you stop that already. This is serious!"

Suwako stops tucking in her stomach and says "sorry", but the expansion on her shirt around her chest still annoys Kanako.

Sanae tries her best to sound serious, but her childish voice makes it hard for her to do so, making Suwako cover her mouth while chuckling, and Kanako stare at her with pink cheeks, while hearts flutter above her head.

Sanae ignores the goddesses and says "it is obvious this is a mayor incident."

Kanako, with a proud, yet childish voice, asks "and how do you even know this is a mayor scale incident?"

Sanae smirks and says "glad you asked."

She reaches for underneath the table and pulls out a tiny Hatate, who is sucking on her own thumb.

Sanae whistles toward the shrine door, then an adult-looking Momiji, carrying a small child-like Aya in her hands, enters and says "young lady, girls shouldn't whistle like that."

Sanae sighs and says "sorry~", then thinks for a moment and shouts "hey, wait a minute! Are you making fun of me?"

Momiji giggles as she places little Aya on the floor, then says "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, what's the plan?"

Sanae grumbles for a bit, then calms down and says "I'll go to Reimu's shrine and she, Marisa and me are going to solve this incident. Simple, right?"

Before Sanae realizes it, Suwako has her sitting on her lap along with Kanako, brushing both their heads with a content look, and a bit of blood coursing down her left nostril.

When Sanae realizes this, she gets mad and starts to wave her little fists in a rage, but feeling Suwako's gentle strokes on her head quickly soothe her and make her fall asleep, right next to Kanako, who is sucking on her thumb while moaning contently.

Momiji smiles at Suwako and says "it's easier to keep control, isn't it."

Suwako nods, then points with her head behind herself.

Little Aya and little Hatate and fighting over Aya's camera, Hatate screaming "it's MY turn to take the photo!"

Aya screaming back "it's my camera! You can't have it!"

Momiji sighs while lightly palming her head, then bends down and gently scolds the girls, only to get struck by a silver washtub that knocks her to the ground, where she curls up in pain like a ball, holding her head with her hands while tears hang from her eyes.

Aya and Hatate watch Momiji for a moment, then resume their fight for the camera, arguing over who takes the photo of the event.

* * *

At the Misty Lake shores, away from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a woman excitedly calls "Dai-chan! Daiyousei, are you here? It's me, Cirno!"

From behind some trees, the adult Cirno jumps out and excitedly looks around, a big smile on her face.

Her hair has grown long, her wings look like giant icicles, and even her chest has grown, evident on her clothes, which are the same as always, but like everyone else, hers have changed to match her new size.

She finally spots a pair of golden wings that look just like Daiyousei's, only larger in size, so she excitedly runs toward the thick concentration of trees and bushes near the shore.

Sitting on a stump in the middle of a small clearing, the grown-up Daiyousei tries to hide herself from the grown-up Cirno, using her new translucent, multi-colored wings for useless cover.

Cirno gasps and exclaims in amazement "Dai-chan! You grew up too."

She looks at Daiyousei's chest and notices she is bigger than Daiyousei in comparison, giving her a sense of accomplishment, then says "oh, I see I really AM the strongest."

Daiyousei blushes and tries to look away, smiling weakly while asking "Ci-Cirno-chan. What's going on? We are so big now?"

Cirno smiles boastfully confident as she says "who knows, but now I understand to many things! Like my spell, Icicle Fall! No WONDER it kept failing, but I couldn't see that before! Now I can beat that Reimu and Marisa with EASE!"

Daiyousei smiles friendly-like, then says "that's my Cirno-chan! No matter what, you'll keep your spirit high and never give up!"

Cirno's boastful smile changes to a wise and gentle smile as she looks to the sky, then softly says "but... now that I think about it, there really isn't a reason to be fighting with them. Well, other than to have a bit of fun."

Daiyousei stares at Cirno for a moment, then thinks "wait, is this really Cirno-chan? She looks so calm and so powerful too. I wonder what's she thinking?"

Cirno turns her head away from the sky and stare at Daiyousei, then says "come on! I have to show you something!"

Cirno suddenly grabs Daiyousei by her arm and drags her along to the lake while she exclaims "wait, Cirno-chan! What's this all about?"

Cirno stops just before the water very suddenly, making Daiyousei crash against her back and fall to the ground.

Cirno turns around and helps her friend back on her bare feet and says "sorry about that. Got a bit carried away. But look!"

Cirno stands just next to the edge of the water and raises her arms to chest-height, then closes her eyes to concentrate.

A cold mist forms all around her, freezing the lake water next to Cirno's feet, then Cirno opens her eyes, and without exerting much effort, she releases a blot of ice that freezes a large chunk of the water, all the way to the Scarlet Island, and forms a perfect ice bridge with a perfect sculpture of Letty Whiterock on the middle.

She turns around with a gentle smile and asks "what do you think?"

Daiyousei watches awestruck and exclaims "Cirno-chan! You did it! But how?"

Cirno looks at her own hand, then looks at Daiyousei with peaceful eyes and says "it appears growing up has affected me in many more ways than I could have ever imagined."

Cirno's mind drifts to memories of all her blunders and boasting, some being older memories that seem as though happened the day before; others being very recent, all allowing her to see mistakes she could not see before.

Daiyousei looks worriedly toward Cirno, but before she can ask, a little girl with light-pink hair and wearing Letty's clothes, jumps out of the bushes and with a childish smile on her face, she demands "play with me!"

Cirno and Daiyousei stare at the little Letty, and with amazement in her voice, Cirno asks "Letty? Letty Whiterock, is that you?"

* * *

At the Moriya Shrine, little Ail and the grown-up Budou land in front of the shrine entrance, and as soon as they both land, Ail calls "Sanae, Suwako, Kanako~ Are you here?"

Budou pats Ail's head, and with a motherly smile on her face, she says "now, now, let me handle this."

She takes a breath of air and loudly calls "mama, big sis, gramma, we're coming in!"

Ail stares at Budou, unable to believe her, then says "if we're just barging in, we shouldn't announce ourselves, don't you think?"

Budou takes a disciplinary tone of voice and expression, then lifts her index finger while saying "young man, you shouldn't talk back to the adults like that."

Ail frowns and lowers his head and sadly says "sorry~"

Little Sanae is the first to walk out of the shrine, and gasps in surprise, then asks "you guys too?"

Budou giggles and says "papa, you were right. Mama, is Kanako a little girl too?"

Sanae looks worriedly toward the two and says "I don't think this is a laughing matter, you two. Come, let's go inside already."

Inside the shrine, Budou and Ail stare at the two little crow tengu, sleeping on Momiji's lap, while little Kanako stares dreamily to the ceiling, while grown-up Suwako happily combs her hair with her hands.

Ail stares at Sanae, then sneaks away with a mischievous smile on his face, while Budou asks "so, does anybody know how this happen?"

Suwako sighs and says "this is Gensokyo. Take your pick", and pulls a notepad out of thin air and tosses it to Budou.

The adult bat youkai reads the first page, which says "Possible Reasons for the age swap, by Suwako Moriya. 1. Spell gone wrong, 2. Something's wrong with the border, 3. Marisa did it again, 4. Kanako got drunk."

Suwako shrugs as Budou stares at her in disbelief, then smiles and says "pick anyone you like. Each is as possible as the next."

Budou continues to stare at Suwako, then angrily says "big-sis, what's your problem? This is serious! It's not that I don't LIKE looking as I do..."

Suwako rapidly says "yes, you do look hot."

Budou blushes, then angrily says "could you just listen? Who knows what kind of effects this might have on us!"

She looks around for Ail, then realizes he and Sanae are gone, then worriedly asks "where are mama and papa?"

Outside the shrine, Sanae's cries echo all the way inside, startling the little tengu and Kanako and making them wake up and cry.

While Suwako and Momiji stay inside to try and calm down the kids, Budou rushes outside and finds Ail holding down Sanae's skirt, while Sanae just cries and points at him, bawling "he pansed me~!"

Budou takes a reprimanding tone and says "papa, what's the meaning of this!"

Ail lets go Sanae's skirt, looks down in shame, then says "I-I'm sorry. I don't know why, but I just did it. I... I'm sorry."

Sanae quickly recovers and already has her skirt up, hugs Ail's neck and with pink cheeks on her smiling face, she says "it's ok. I'm not mad anymore."

Ail feels disgusted for some reason, and with a desperate look while trying to escape, he thinks "this feels so wrong!"

Budou stares at them and thinks "oh my, it seems whatever caused this is also causing them to regress. He's picking on mama because he likes her, but hates it when she touches him."

Budou looks back to the shrine building, then says out loud "Suwako, I'm taking mama and papa to the Hakurei Shrine!"

Suwako shouts back "alright! I'll go there later with Kanako."

Budou looks back at Ail and Sanae, who are now wrestling on the ground for Ail's freedom, then thinks "it's not just them, but... me too. I'm thinking differently. Oh, I hope Hakurei Sis can help!"

* * *

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the gates are locked, since there is no gate guard.

A blue skinned youkai approaches the gate, thinking of entering the mansion to explore it, but stops when he hears voices from inside.

A woman calls "Sakuya~ I really need your help here!"

A soft, and elegant woman's voice replies "immediately, my lady!"

Another woman, this one sounding girly and immature, calls "hey, Sakuya! Don't listen to her! I'm bigger than her now! You should listen to me!"

Suddenly, a little girl starts crying, then Sakuya says out loud "miss Flandre, you make her cry again!"

Inside the mansion, grown-up Flandre, who has longer hair now, larger, and brighter wings, and a large chest, has a tiny Meiling on her lap, crying because she stopped shaking her around.

Flandre, sounding quite immature, says "well it's not my fault. This is boring! Besides, I want to go see Marisa. I want her to see how much I've grown!"

Sakuya approaches Flandre, showing she's also grown up, her silver hair grown a little longer, and her chest looking quite normal.

She sighs as she takes the little sobbing Meiling on her arms and says "look, you're grown up now, but that's because of a spell. Once it wears off, we can get on with our normal lives."

Remilia enters the living room, her hair grown slightly longer, her wings matching her size in width, and her chest slightly larger than Sakuya's.

She looks around the living room and spots the little Meiling on Sakuya's arms, so she approaches them, and while gently rubbing the little girl's cheek with her finger, she says "this is why I didn't want to grow up in the first place."

Sakuya turns around, making it easier for Remilia to play with Meiling, then asks "by why, my lady? You look so beautiful, and your powers have increased ten-fold."

Remilia sighs and says "save your compliments. Look at me! I look HOT! I fit in my bed just perfectly, it's a little uncomfortable to bend my wing every time I enter a room, and now I have to wear a bra all the time!"

Sakuya imagines Remilia struggling to put on her bra, then smiles as a stream of blood falls down her nose.

Remilia gasps and takes little Meiling away from Sakuya, saving her from getting her head covered in blood, and making her giggle contently as she hugs Remilia and presses her cheek against her chest.

Remilia blushes and says "thank goodness she's so cute like this, or I'd throw her away!"

Flandre stretches and drops on the couch behind her, then says "it's gonna be a shame when this spell wears off. Just being like this helps me prove how I am much better than onee-sama."

Remilia, Meiling and Sakuya stare at Flandre, who smiles and says "well, I am stronger, more powerful AND I'm hotter. Well, when I change back to normal, I'll still be cuter."

Sakuya sweats as she stares at Remilia with the corner of her eyes, then steps away from her mistress, however, instead of an outburst, Remilia calmly says "Flan, catch!", then tosses Meiling to Flandre, making the little door guard squeal with glee.

After Flandre catches Meiling, Remilia walks to the window, summons a small scarlet spear to her hand, then tosses it to the ground, which explodes promptly.

Sakuya asks "what's the matter, my lady?"

Remilia smiles and in a sweet, yet cold voice, says "just some poor youkai whose fate came just a tad sooner."

* * *

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, little Reimu plays around the shrine's courtyard with little Rika and a little red ball.

Rika is about to kick the ball to Reimu and calls "here it comes, miss Reimu~"

Reimu rapidly says "could you PLEASE call me Reimu for now? You're ruining my experience!"

Rika stops entirely and her lower lip starts to tremble, then Reimu sighs loudly and says "don't cry now! Just kick the ball, come on! Who knows when this spell is gonna wear off."

Rika rubs her eyes and sniffles, then smiles and says "alright... Reimu."

Rika kicks the little red ball as hard as her tiny legs can, sending the ball high to the sky, making Reimu fly up to catch it.

Reimu giggles happily after catching it, then slowly floats back down to the ground, saying "even though I can't fly for long, I can still float. Feels tickly!"

Rika sweats and smiles, then says "um, I can see your underwear."

Reimu gasps and thinks of covering herself up, but she forgets about it when she sees Budou flying over to her shrine, carrying little Ail and little Sanae in her arms.

Reimu points to Budou and exclaims "YAY~ Friends came over!" then pauses and thinks as she lands on the ground, then says "w-wait... Why am I so excited over that?"

Just as Budou lands and places Ail and Sanae on the ground, Ail calls "Reimu~ Big problem. I mean, little problem.. I mean... Hey, a ball! Can we play?"

Reimu stares at Ail for a moment, then pulls her little ball away from him and says "no way! It's mine!"

Ail slumps and says "aww, come on. It's just to play. I'm not taking it."

Reimu stares at Ail and thinks "wow, that was so selfish of me. I couldn't do that when I was a child before. I mean... I couldn't play, or have my own things. All I could do was train, and learn, and all that boring stuff..."

Reimu lowers her head and starts to giggle, though it seems she's crying.

Ail panics and just as Sanae reaches his side, he quickly says "w-w-w-wait, don't cry! I swear, I wasn't going to steal it or anything!"

Reimu starts to laugh, confusing both Ail and Sanae, then says "I-I'm sorry, hahaha! Let's just play!"

Rika quickly stands by Reimu's side, smiles confidently, then asks "shall we play in teams?"

Sanae and Ail look at each other, smirk, then Sanae says "you're on!"

Just as they start running to the front of the shrine, Ail calls "loser gets to buy treats!"

From the side-entrance, Budou calls "you kids be careful not to fall!"

The four kids reply "OKAY~", just as Mima floats above Budou, smirking while saying "I'm gonna have fun!"

* * *

Inside the shrine, Suika sits behind the small table, sipping on some tea, when Budou enters and asks "any ideas when will things go back to normal?"

Suika lightly shakes her head, gulps down, then says "I'm worried. Reimu is taking things too lightly, and is only playing with that ball. Come to think of it, I still don't know where it came from."

Budou sighs and says "papa's been the same. Even mama has been acting too calmly about this."

Suika nods, then calmly says "I don't understand it, but there's something about watching them play like that. It feels like... everything is alright."

Budou looks outside and watches as Ail, Sanae, Reimu and Rika try to play, while Mima grabs the ball and tries to fly away with it, then drops it on Reimu's or Sanae's head, then says "I don't understand either, but... you're right. If feels alright. So peaceful."

Budou and Suika look at each other, and each ask at the same time "but why does it feel like this?"

Rika stands silently on the porch, having let Mima take her place as Reimu's partner, and after listening to Suika and Budou, she says "maybe it's because my lady has earned this."

Suika and Budou stare at Rika, who immediately says "d-don't get me wrong. I wish to turn back to normal. It's really hard to serve my lady Reimu with this small body."

Budou asks "what do you mean, little one? Oop... Sorry about that."

Rika smiles and nods, then says "it's alright, miss Budou. I am little. About miss Reimu... You see, ever since our pact ceremony, I've been having dreams about my lady's past. I mean, at first I thought I was just dreaming, but then... Well, anyway, the thing is that miss Reimu, as a child, never had the chance to BE a child. She was always in training, or busy studying. She never had a proper childhood. That's why..."

Suika continues for Rika, saying "that's why you've been so compliant. I suppose we can wait until she's had her fun. She deserves it."

Budou nods and says "I see. Maybe papa and mama are the same. I mean, I don't really know much about their pasts, but... Maybe this is why this feels so right."

Rika and Suika nod and continue to watch, as the four children continue their little game.

* * *

Back at the SDM, Flandre is in her room, admiring herself in the mirror, smiling and whispering "I look so much better than her *giggle*. Maybe I should challenge her for the title as head of the mansion..."

She twirls in place and looks at herself in the mirror once more, then says "nah. Let her do all the icky stuff as head of the mansion. I'll just focus on looking better than her."

Sakuya mysteriously appears next to Flandre, and looking at Flandre with the corner of her narrowed eyes, she says "that's the best decision you could have made, lady Flandre."

Flandre stiffens and jumps in place, shrieking right after Sakuya speaks, then turns to face the bowing Sakuya and shouts "don't sneak up on me like that!"

Sakuya chuckles, then says "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Still, It seems you haven't noticed, but miss Remilia has gotten more powerful too. Maybe even more than you."

Flandre angrily asks "how do you even know that?"

Sakuya calmly replies "you saw how she dealt with that youkai. I don't understand exactly how, but she sensed it long before you or I could, and she only used roughly five percent of her full power."

Flandre sighs and says "geez, then I was right. Well, I'm still stronger."

Sakuya smiles and giggles, then says "yes, you still beat her in strength, my lady."

Sakuya and Flandre look at each other, smile, and start to giggle, then suddenly, Remilia's voice echoes all around them as she calls "Patchouli Knowledge~ You have some explaining to do!"

Her call is followed by Meiling's childish voice, repeating "you got some ss...'splainin to do!"

Sakuya and Flandre look at each other again, this time, their smiles turn to a wriggled frown, both fearing the strict tone of voice used by Remilia.

They both rush out of the room, only to find Remilia and little Meiling standing in front of them.

Remilia places her eyes on Sakuya, then on Flandre, making them both flinch, then says "come with me. This will interest you two!"

Quietly, and without questioning, Sakuya, Flandre and Meiling follow Remilia as she furiously walks her way toward Patchouli's library.

She pushes the doors open, making a loud bang, then enters and looks around with her eyes.

Again, she calls "Patchouli, where are you?"

A little girl replies with urgency "over here! Hurry!"

Flandre picks Meiling up, and sits her on her shoulders, making Meiling giggle and say "giddiup!"

They follow after Remilia and Sakuya, and shortly after, they find an older-looking Koakuma holding on to a short-haired, tiny version of Patchouli, with hearts flying all over her head as she snuggles against the unwilling little magician girl.

Patchouli looks up to Remilia and says "please, help me. She won't let me go!"

Koakuma says "she so cute! I'm NEVER letting go!"

Remilia smirks, her eyes glow bright, then she says "serves you right!"

Everyone stares at Remilia with confusion in their faces, then Remilia smiles and calmly says "you see, I did some thinking, then some snooping, and I decided to pay a visit to the shore around the lake."

Sakuya stares at her grown-up mistress, blinded by her newfound beauty, and is unable to ask, or say anything of the matter.

Flandre growls softly, then little Meiling pats Flandre's head with her little hands and asks "and did you find something, my lady miss Remilia?"

Remilia hops next to Flandre and Meiling, pats little Meiling on the head, and while smiling, she says "you're such a cute little gate guard, aren't you?"

She hops back to her initial standing point and says "well, I found a hastily rubbed out magic circle, immense magical residue, AND, this cute little pink ribbon. A ribbon... belonging to..."

Remilia points at the tiny Patchouli on Koakuma's arms and says "this little shut-in."

Patchouli stares back at everyone with her casual, unfriendly stare, then whispers "dammit, she already found out."

She pats Koakuma's hand, which is on her belly, then says "Koa, run away!"

Before Koakuma can even blink, Remilia already has the little purple-dressed girl hanging by her arm, held by her left hand, and says "you're not going anywhere. I want a complete explanation of this mess you caused!"

Patchouli sighs as the dangles above the ground, looking down to Remilia's feet, then says "alright, you win. Koa? Could you be a dear and bring my notes here?"

Koakuma stands up with a gleeful smile on her face and says "nope. But, if you give me a kiss, I might consider it."

Remilia lets Patchouli drop to the ground, and with a wicked smile on her face, she says "better do it, Patchy, or I might have to give you one of MY special kisses."

Patchouli sighs again, then stands up and reluctantly walks toward Koakuma, who is already kneeling and expanding her arms to greet Patchouli with that big smile.

Before even reaching her face, Patchouli finds herself embraced by Koakuma, and kissed so hard, she thinks she's going to get eaten.

When it all stops, Patchouli notices she's standing on her desk with her notes spread over them, and Remilia, Sakuya, Flandre and Meiling staring at her with the outmost curiosity on the other side of the desk.

Patchouli clears her throat and says "well, very efficient, I see. Now then, where should we start?"

Remilia smiles and says "how about from the beginning."

Patchouli stares back at Remilia, admiring her incredible beauty and grown-up features while feeling a soothing cold chill course up her spine.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN –Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Budou were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot2010

JUN 6 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, this took a while. I WISH I could say it was due to laziness form my part, but this time, I was forced to work on some heavy chores. God, I don't like chores... but at least my room smells nice and clean. Now then, this was VERY, VERY hard for me to make at first. It was becoming confusing to separate the adults form children. But I finally managed, after 3 attempts. I really hope you like this lighthearted spin-off, and please, any constructive comment is welcome. Thank you all, take care, and see you next chapter, if the spirits will allow.**


	2. Chapter 2

It's a beautiful, hot summer morning at the Tengu's Mountain, and Momiji is getting ready for her morning shift.

She stretches her arms, then her legs, then her waist, then finally grabs her sword and shield from the ground.

She brandishes her sword, then realizes the two little tengu, Aya and Hatate, are standing dangerously close to her, staring at her as she warms up.

Momiji stops her sword just before it touches Hatate, even with her heart racing after the unwelcome surprise.

She sighs, taking one deep breath of air afterward, then exclaims "you two shouldn't be here! Get back inside the houses!"

Hatate pouts and says "aww! But it's so boring in there!"

Aya looks up at Momiji with glassy, sad puppy eyes, then asks "can we stay around here? All the other adults are busy, and they won't let us play on our own!"

Momiji places her hand with the sword hilt on her head and lightly growls, then says "alright, you may stay. But if there is any danger, I want you two to run into the caves, or fly as fast as you can back to your houses. Did I make myself clear?"

The two little crow tengu salute Momiji, saying "yes ma'am" at the same time, while Aya loses control and her wings spring out on their own, striking Hatate on her cheek.

Aya gasps and starts to whimper while apologizing, while Hatate sniffles, then shouts "you did that on purpose, you idiot!"

Aya cries "no~ I'm sorry~"

Momiji sighs and thinks "this is going to be a long shift."

Just after she finishes saying that, a small, dark-red drill lands right on top of Momiji's head, knocking her to the ground, then jumps to the ground to her left.

When it stops spinning, she sees a small girl with short aquamarine hair tied into a tiny ponytail on the back of her head, and a ribbon almost as big as herself on her head.

From the bushes, a woman calls "Hina~ Stop already! We need to get down!"

Little Hina waves at the three tengu, winking and sticking out her tongue at them, then says "see you laters!"

She points her finger at Hatate and sends a cloud of curses at her, then giggles and jumps off the ledge, floating back down softly thanks to her skirt.

Hatate screams "I've been cursed!"

Grown-up Nitori, whose hair has grown longer, and now ties it on a ponytail that pops out of the small gap behind her hat, jumps out of the bushes and gives Hatate a golden horseshoe and says "for luck."

She rushes to the edge of the mountain, and just before flying down with her rocket backpack, she turns around and shouts "sorry for all the trouble! I'll get her, so don't you worry!"

She jumps down and screams "NO~! I forgot to refuel this. AIEEE!"

After the splash, Momiji, Aya and Hatate look down, then Momiji sighs and repeats "a long, long shift!"

Hatate slips and falls down, screaming "CURSES~!"

* * *

An hour later, down at the Youkai Forest, Nitori follows a trail of cursed youkai and fairies, all doing their best to hide from countless unfortunate events that keep befalling them.

Some even shiver and mumble incoherently, while others cry in fear, and others speak rapid nonsense while trembling in place, or running in circles.

Nitori sighs and says "oh my, she's really having fun now. Oh dear, I hope I can catch her before she really causes trouble."

On the river, not far from where she is, there is a big explosion that sends water flying all over the sky, then rapidly back down, making a quick rainbow.

Nitori's lips wriggles as she stares toward the river and says to herself "I REALLY hope that wasn't her!"

Nitori runs fast, and reaches the river's shore quickly.

To her dismay, she finds Hina standing on the very edge of the shore, holding one of Nitori's large laser guns, and with a smile on her face, little Hina asks "what does this thing do?"

She pulls on the trigger and a swirly yellow beam, surrounded by a blue beam, shoots straight toward the mountain, and the moment it makes contact, it explodes violently.

Hina giggles as she admires the fireworks and exclaims with glee "ooh~ It goes BOOM!"

Nitori frowns and sweats, then says "Hina, please give that back. It's too dangerous for you!"

Hina pulls on her lower eyelid and sticks out her tongue, then mockingly says "come and get me, stupid onee-chan!"

Suddenly, little Hina gasps and tries to jump in the river, but 3 metallic arms with gloved hands rapidly grab her by her little waist and her tiny legs, making her drop the weapon and say "Awww, I wanted to play some more!"

She sticks her tongue out toward Nitori, making a rude sound, then says "you meanie onee-chan!"

Nitori swipes the sweat off her forehead with a sigh, then asks herself "why didn't I think of using these sooner? Huh? What's that?"

From the mountain come three faint screams that get closer and louder rapidly.

Nitori places a hand on her ear to try and make out the sound, then very suddenly, a large white blur crashes against her and knocks her to the ground, freeing Hina in the process, who cheers and says "yay, I get to play some more!"

Two more white blurs crash nearby.

One of them is Aya, who lands on a soft bush, and the other is Hatate, who lands hard, face-first on to the water, making a loud smacking sound.

Hina winces and says "ooh~ Belly flop. That's very unfortunate."

Hatate slowly sinks into the water, then suddenly bursts out, shouting "help! I can't swim!"

Aya springs off from the bush and shouts "Momiji! Hatate's drowning!"

Without even looking, Momiji jumps off then dazed, knocked out Nitori, rushes to the river, and jumps in to look for Hatate.

Meanwhile, Hina pulls Hatate out of the water to the shore, and while the tengu catches her breath, and Aya rushes to help them, Hina says "I'll absorb all that bad luck inside of you, but you two will have to play with me! Deal?"

Aya and Hatate stare a little Hina with angry face, while she draws out and absorbs the bad luck from Hatate.

The two tengu look at each other, then back at Hina again, raise their arms in the air and shout "YAY! Let's GO!"

Moments later, Momiji splashes out of the water, gasping for air and crying "I couldn't find her! I'm so sorry Hatate!"

Nitori walks closer to her and asks "what's the matter?"

Momiji cries "Hatate fell in the water. She called for help... but... but... I was too slow!"

Nitori helps the crying wolf tengu up on her feet and points toward the forest's exit, then asks "you mean the one with the violet tokin, or the one with the red one?"

Momiji stares as the three girls merrily skip away, and like an erupting volcano, her anger rises all the way to her head, steam whistles as it blows out her nose and ears, then the shouts "you little monsters! Come back here this instant!"

Aya, Hina and Hatate look back, pulls their lower eyelids, stick out their tongues, then Hina shouts "come and get us!", then the three girls run away and hide under some bushes.

From the distance, a rough voice calls "MOMIJI~ Why aren't you at your post!"

Momiji face palms while Nitori stares at her nervously, then says "ugh. Forget the shift. This is going to be a very long day."

She looks at Nitori and says "you go ahead. I'll catch up later!"

Nitori nods, then she and Momiji run to completely opposite directions.

* * *

At the forest's exit, a woman and a small girl walk toward the Human Village.

The woman is Minoriko Aki, whose hair has grown long and her chest he expanded considerably.

Next to her is Shizuha, who is now a little girl, yet looks exactly the same, if it weren't for her height.

She stares angrily at her sister's chest and grumbles "always. That's not fair. Goddess of plenty. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

Minoriko can hear her complains, and simply smiles with pride and says "goddess of plenty indeed! Look at me, I'm BEAUTIFUL!"

Shizuha grumbles and says "I heard you the first hundred time! In any case, why the hell are we going to the village? It isn't autumn yet."

Minoriko's eyes glint, accompanying the mischievous, wide crescent smile on her face, and says "isn't it obvious? We are going there so that the humans can admire me in all my glory! Never again will they question me as the goddess of plentiful harvest!"

Shizuha pouts and looks away, then says to herself "you just want to show off", then asks "and why are you bringing ME along?"

Minoriko smiles tenderly and says "well I can't leave my little nee-san on her own. Besides, when they see you with me, you are likely to get some attention too."

Shizuha pouts and looks away, then silently grumbles "you just want to show off!"

Farther behind them, Hina hides behind some bushes, smiling with mischief at the sisters of autumn.

She makes a loud "cooing" sound, signaling the two tengu on the trees ahead to strike.

The sisters walk by a narrow road, where two trees are coincidentally positioned between it.

From the left tree, Hatate jumps out, screaming and shooting miniature danmaku bullets, while Aya jumps out from the right tree, shouting "ayayaya", and trying to take some photos, unaware that her thumb is on the lens.

Hatate's danmaku explodes right in front of Shizuha, making her jump back with a quick yelp.

Minoriko stands firmly in place and extends her arms, grabbing Hatate and Aya by their necks, then asks "what the hell is your problem, you scruffy birds?"

Aya immediately complains and says "HEY~ I preen myself every morning and before bed."

Before Minoriko can speak again, a small red drill flies in the sky and dives straight on to the back of her head, making her drop the tengu to rub herself.

Hina stops spinning, while standing a few feet in front of the sister, and with a wicked smile on her face she says in sing-song "you can't catch us!"

Shizuha's eyes get watery, sobs and says "sis, I'm scared."

Minoriko smiles with confidence after standing back up, and takes one step forward, then the ground underneath them explodes violently and sends them forcefully flying toward the village.

Hina stares at the smoke with a serious and determined face and say "tch! It's you!"

At the village's entrance, the adults who are supposed to be kids play around, some smacking themselves against various objects, unable to measure their own size, while the kids that are supposed to be adults are constantly scolding their grown-up children.

Everything gets quiet very suddenly, and everyone raises their ears, as a pair of screams get closer.

Very suddenly, the grown-up Minoriko falls from the sky and lands flat on the ground on her face, while Shizuha crashes next to her on her seat, bounces, then crashes again, rolling away a little farther.

Minoriko trembles as she slowly gets up and says "urgh. Thank goodness I landed on something soft... but it still hurts."

Shizuha finally stops rolling and quickly tries to get up, calling "sis! Are you o-", but the moment she moves her left leg, she feels sharp pain under her knee.

She stops and sits down, holds her leg, and bends her body to see a large scratch on her knee, which is bleeding a bit.

She continues to hold her leg, her lips start to wriggle, she starts to sniffle and sob, her eyes turn watery, and tears start to fall down her cheeks, then she suddenly starts bawling.

Minoriko manages to get up and call "Shizuha, what happened? KYAH!", but a mob of villagers run over her to rush to Shizuha, all awing and cooing at her to make her stop crying.

Minoriko stands up again, trembling as the pain on her body courses through her, then she shouts "HEY! Why did you run all over me like that, you idiots?"

A grown up man says "she's hurt, and she's crying!"

A little girl says "how could you do that to her? She's your own daughter!", then many others, at the same time, say "and she's so cute!"

Minoriko scowls and points at herself with her thumb, then says "hey, I'm sexy, and you ran all over me! Doesn't that count for anything?"

One of the boys gets closer to her and stares, drools, then says "yeah, you are pretty and all...", then he looks to Shizuha and says "but she's smaller, she's cute, and you are big and strong, and you can take a little beating."

The boy rushes to the mob that surrounds Shizuha, then Minoriko drops on her seat on the ground and says to herself "geez, no respect whatsoever."

* * *

Back at the path that leads to the village, Hatate has been squeezed between two narrow trees, and is struggling to get out, and Aya dangles upside-down, tied by some thorny vines that hang from the left-side tree.

The two little tengu can only watch as little Hina takes on the still-unknown enemy.

There is another explosion and Hina lands on the road on her feet after flying a bit, glaring forward and saying "you can't win now. I'm full of energy, vigor, spirit, and more importantly..."

Hatate asks "guts?"

Hina glares at Hatate and smiles with a glint in her eyes, then says "no~ I'm full of BRAND NEW CURSES!"

She fires another cloud of curses toward Hatate, then glares back at her target, and says "so there's no way you can win THIS time... Little Rabid Karate Night Sparrow!"

A miniature bird with fluffy hair, instead of feathers, walks right out of the dust cloud on the road, then peeps angrily, while angrily flapping his little, furry, flightless wings.

Little Hina smirks and says "complaining will get you nowhere. We are now even I power!"

The little baby sparrow peeps rapidly, then Hina gasps and says "I'll show you, you mean little chick!"

Hatate and Aya look at each other right after Hina's words, but keep quiet, understanding their frustration from those harsh words.

Hina smiles wickedly as she unleashes a string of curses straight at the little RKNS, but the bird doesn't even look at her.

The curses are a mere inch away from touching the bird's wing, and he suddenly jumps, grabs the string with his tiny claws, and as soon as he touches the ground again, he jumps straight to Hina with speed, then wraps her ankles with her own misfortune, knocking her to the ground, then he quickly jumps on her back, and somehow manages to tie her hands behind her back as well, all before Hina herself realizes what happened.

Hina finally takes notice of her captivity, then says "aww~ No fair!", just as Nitori finally catches up to them and exclaims "finally, I got you!"

All three girls whine and Hina adds "I wanted to play more."

The RKNS looks at the girls and their sad little faces, then clenches his claws, vaporizing Hina's curse string, then jumps high up with great skill, and frees Aya, then lands on Hatate's head, and manages to kick the right tree and somehow push it away, freeing her as well.

The three girls stare at the bird with great confusion, and just as Nitori is about to grab hold of them, the RKNS runs to her, jumps up her skirt, and makes her yelp and stumble around, saying "hahaha, s-stop! HAHAHA, cut it out! That tickles!"

While Nitori continues to stumble and laugh, the RKNS stands beside the three girls and peeps his proposition.

The three girls nod and Hina says "fine, but if you wanna sleep with me, you're gonna have to behave! Understand?"

The RKNS stares into her eyes, then jumps on her shoulder, and all four run away from Nitori, giggling as they head toward the village, Hatate saying "hey, take off these cu- KYAH~!"

There is a loud thud, and the sound of scraping on the ground, then Hina sighs and says "so unfortunate."

* * *

Back at the Human Village, at the house of Maribel and Renko, a little girl calls "Mary, hurry up! We need to get to the school now!"

Another little girl replies "but I can't reach my toothbrush, Renko!"

Inside the house, little Renko uses one of Patchouli's heart charms to tie her short hair into a side-ponytail, then jumps up to their couch and says to herself "geez, that girl", then calls "then fly already!"

Maribel replies "ah, that's right. Thanks Renko!"

Renko says to herself "at least I'm not with my mom. She'd make me wear those pigtails again."

A small cat-girl with long blonde hair that reaches down to her back, and a golden-colored tail walks toward Renko, then smiles and says "nya, I'm ready now."

Renko sighs and says "geez, you almost look like a full cat-girl, you know that? It's a little weird."

Maribel giggles and says "I know. But it's ok. I look cute."

Renko face palms, then jumps down from the couch and says "whatever, let's just go. Big-sister Mokou's probably getting worried by now."

From the door, a woman says "oh yes, she is!"

Renko and Maribel gasp as they look toward the open front door, then exclaim "Mokou!"

Mokou stands on the doorway, her long hair reaching to her ankles, Her chest grown very little, and her face showing concern through her calm and wise eyes.

She kneels down to greet the two little girls and says "for a moment there, I thought you weren't coming."

Maribel giggles and smiles sheepishly, while Renko says "someone forgot she could fly and stalled us."

Maribel lightly bonks her own head with her little fist while chuckling, then says "I'm sorry."

Mokou picks up the two girls and stands up, then says "come on. Keine's getting lonely already."

Renko concernedly asks "don't you mean 'worried'?"

Mokou manages to close the door with her foot and takes flight afterward, then sighs and says "you could say it's a little bit of both. She's so vulnerable in her current state. I want to protect her... but I can only do so much."

Maribel giggles and says "ok, then! Let's stay over until this spell wears off!"

Renko asks "are you sure about that?"

Mokou adds "it would help, but what about you? Wouldn't that be a bother?"

Maribel clenches her little hands, and with determination in her face, she says "of course I'm sure. She's our friend, and she needs us!"

Mokou and Renko smile as Maribel says these words, then Mokou softly lands next to the school and says "here we are. Let's go in and tell Keine the good news."

She places the two little girls on the ground, and they immediately run toward the school's entrance.

Inside, a small Keine sobs in a corner of the classroom. Her hair, silver in color with blue highlights, now only reaches her shoulders.

When the doors open, she turns her attention to it, and from the doorway, Maribel and Renko call "Keine~ we came to play!"

Little Keine springs to her feet, and with a smile on her tear-filled face, she giggles as she runs to the door and says "Maribel, Renko~, at last, you're here!"

As soon as she's in reach, little Keine jumps and lands on her friends, all three giggling as they roll around on the floor.

Mokou stands tall as she smiles and thinks "it is my turn to take care, and protect Keine. Please, allow the strength and the will to do so to the best of my abilities."

* * *

At Kyo's house, the unbelievable silence is broken rather quickly, by a woman's voice that calls "Kyo~ It's time you wake up!"

From the second floor, a child angrily replies "oi! It's too hot today! Let me sleep some more!"

The woman replies "it's almost noon! Wake up, or I'm coming up there!"

A girl adds "remember what happened last time!"

Inside the house, on the first floor's living room, there is a small girl sitting on the couch.

It's Luna, and her silver hair is as short as Youmu's, though she still has her red highlights, and instead of two black pins, she can only wear one. She's also missing her swords, since they didn't shrink along with her and her clothes.

She gasps for air and shouts "Kyo, if you don't come down here, I'm coming to get you myself!"

On the kitchen are Medicine and Su-San, and both have grown up.

Medicine's hair has grown down to the middle of her back, and surprisingly, she has a perfect womanly figure, evident even over the apron she's wearing.

Su-San looks similar to Medicine, but she is still the size of a doll.

Kyo finally walks down the stairs and with an annoyed look on his eyes, he says "jeez, what nuisances you are!"

His hair looks naturally combed, his body looks shaggy, but he still has that confident look in his eyes.

He looks at Medicine and asks "are you sure you're a doll youkai? I mean, you grew up and all that. Dolls don't grow up."

A vein pulsates on Medicine's forehead as she raises a trembling fist, then says "that's got NOTHING to do with it, mister! And if you repeat that again, I'm going to spank you!"

Kyo rests his head on his forearms behind it as he looks at Medicine with uncaring, unthreatened eyes, the scoffs and says "whatever... Come on, Luna. Let's head to the school."

Luna smiles, her face brightening up as she looks at Kyo, then says "ok! But first we should eat lunch. I don't wanna be a bother for miss Mokou again."

Kyo scoffs again and asks "lunch? What about breakfast?"

Medicine stands beside him, and with a wide smile on her face, she hands him a plate of food and says "well, good little children that wake up early get to eat breakfast."

Panic fills Kyo's face as he accepts the plate, then asks "w-wait. You cooked this?"

Medicine calmly sighs and says "well of course. I told you, I have my poison under control now. Come to think of it..."

She walks to Luna and hands over the second plate, then continues "come to think of it, now I know why I kept getting so tired before, I was always using my full power for everything."

Luna grabs her fork and eats her food so fast, by the time Medicine finishes speaking, she's already done eating and taking her plate to the sink, where Su-San is cleaning the dishes and pans used to cook.

Medicine blinks twice, then says "young lady, try and be a little more lady-like."

Luna giggles and says "just like a real mom. Thanks."

* * *

At Keine's school, Mokou sits on Keine's desk, while she watches over the three girls playing around the classroom.

The student's desks have been moved to the side, so there is room for them to play around.

She hears a knock on the door and stands up to attend to it, then says "I'll go check who's at the door. Be on your best behavior."

The three girls reply "alright!" at the same time, then Mokou smiles and walks to the door.

Moments later, Kyo and Luna arrive to the building, and hear a lot of giggles and laughs coming from inside.

Luna looks at Kyo and asks "hey, do you think it's a little too loud in there?"

Kyo nods and says "let's go in anyway."

They unwisely ignore the strange gut-feeling they have, and walk into to building.

Inside, they find Hina, standing on the teacher's desk, staring at Mokou, who's hanging upside-down, tied from her ankle, all the way down to her mouth, swaying left and right while glaring back at Hina.

On the floor are Maribel and Renko, playing jumping jacks with Hatate, and Aya and Keine jumping all over the place, thrashing about, trashing ornaments and potted plants.

Kyo and Luna look at each other, then smile and Luna shouts "who wants to visit the Hakurei shrine!"

All the girls stop and stare at the visitors, then they all reply "I DO~" at the same time, while raising their hands.

There is a peep coming from Hina, and when Kyo looks, he can see the baby RKNS perching on her shoulder.

He says "no wonder you managed to trap Mokou."

The RKNS flaps his featherless wings contently, then Hina follows after Kyo and Luna, then says "remember, I am the leader, so I get to decide what prank we play there, is that clear?"

Kyo shrugs and says "whatever", while Luna glares at Hina, then says "I'll be watching you, miss leader. Kyo is MINE!"

Kyo blushes and tires to complain, but Hina smirks and speaks before he can, saying "alright, but if you try anything funny, we'll have to compete, and the winner gets to keep the pet!"

Luna presses her face against Hina's then says "you're on!"

Luna grabs Kyo's arms and pulls him as she says "well, come on, let's go then!"

Kyo tries to pull himself free while angrily saying "hey, I am NOBODY'S pet!"

Luna pulls Kyo closer to her, while Hina watches them with a mischievous smile on her face, then she looks at the baby RKNS on her shoulder and says "this is going to be a fun night after all!"

The RKNS ruffles his furry body, then Hina starts to follow the group to Reimu's shrine.

Mokou struggles to break free, muffling as she tries to tell the kids to stop and untie her, but to no avail.

* * *

At the Misty Lake's shore, on the Scarlet Devil Mansion's island, Cirno holds little Letty by her hands as she stands on Cirno's feet, and Cirno walks her around, making her giggle out loud.

Over the lake's water there are various floating ice orbs, some floating on top of the water, other floating in the air.

Daiyousei flies from the inside, going right through the ice wall of one of the air orbs, then looks back at it and says "this is just amazing. It's bigger than my own house inside!"

Cirno smiles as she lifts Letty on to her shoulders, then says "really? Well, I guess my theory was right."

Daiyousei turns around to face Cirno with a curious look on her face, and asks "what do you mean? Cirno, what's going on with you? You are so different now."

Cirno smiles as she hides her eyes under her hair and says "by mixing the ice with my new-found power, and remembering the logics of space and time, I am able to create things unimaginable. I did have to push it a little bit... you know, borders and limits had to be bent, but that's the result right there."

Letty looks up at Cirno with a curious face, while strands of Daiyousei's hair stand up, her mind boggled by Cirno's explanation, and even she's so confused, she smiles as she asks "you made all that up, didn't you?"

Cirno giggles loudly and says "c-can't fool you, can I, Dai-chan. Just think of it as really special magic."

Daiyousei looks into Cirno's eyes and sees some sadness in them, and Cirno, quickly realizing Daiyousei's notice, smiles widely and says "hey, take Letty into the playground for a while. I need to check on something over at the other side."

Daiyousei smiles, forgetting what she saw in Cirno's eyes, then flies toward the girls, grabs little Letty, then says "I'll take good care of her."

Cirno smiles, pat's Letty's head, saying "be good", then looks at Daiyousei with a wise look on her eyes, smiles, then says "thank you very much. If you need me, you know what to do."

Daiyousei rummages through her pockets and pulls out a small, non-melting ice figure of Cirno that looks as she is now, then says "I don't think there should be trouble, but thanks."

Cirno smiles, then flaps her large icicle wings and flies away, while Daiyousei flaps her large gold and translucent turn-color wings, and she and Letty enter one of the ice orbs that floats on the water, going through the ice as if it weren't even there.

As Cirno flies toward her destination, she thinks "how come I understand all of this? How am I able to make these things now? My powers, my mind... magic... It's all so amazing!"

* * *

At the other side of the island, little Kimi lies on the ground, tied up by her legs and hands.

She looks just like little Meiling, only her hair is short but bushy, and her beret is so big, it keeps falling off her.

Kali has grown up, and the only difference that can be noticed, is the bump on her chest, and her height.

Kali smirks as she stares at Kimi, then says "just pledge your loyalty to me and I'll let you go."

Kimi wriggles and hops on the ground as she angrily replies "when this spell wears off, I'm going to punch you, bite your head, and if I feel MERCIFUL, I'll only beak ONE of your legs!"

Kali shakes her finger at Kimi, clicking her tongue while doing so, then says "wrong answer. Fine. I'll just kill you right now, before you get strong again..."

Kali mercilessly shoots shadow thorn danmaku bullets straight at Kimi, who manages to jump on her feet and summon an energy field that protects her from Kali's relentless attacks.

Kali's red eyes open widely and says "so, your powers are still stronger than mine. No big deal. Your powers may be stronger, but that body of yours is still weaker than mine! Now DIE!"

Kali reaches for Kimi's neck, while Kimi bravely glares back at the grown-up shadow youkai and thinks "dammit, I can't defend myself like this."

Kali's hands are just about to wrap themselves around Kimi's neck, when she suddenly stops.

Kimi watches with a smile as Kali's body turns to ice, right before her eyes, then says "ha, ha~ Serves you right, you weakling!"

From behind her, sounding disappointed and scared while scolding Kimi, Cirno says "miss Kimi, that's not nice, even if she is an enemy, show some respect."

Kimi smiles confidently and says "yeah, yeah. I'll be sure to apologize later... maybe."

Cirno sighs and asks "why didn't you use it? I told you I'd come help you."

Cirno unties Kimi, then the little dragon youkai rummages through her clothes and pulls out the small ice figure of Cirno and looks at it with grimace, then says "I don't like it. Besides, I'm not just some weakling!"

Cirno sighs with frustrations, then kneels down next to Kimi and places her hand on the ice figure, changing its shape to large star with magic.

Kimi gasps, unable to hide her childish excitement, then exclaims "now THIS I like! Thanks!"

She blushes after realizing she lost her cool, then says "d-don't think we're friends because of this! I just like stars, is all!"

Cirno giggles as she stands up, then says "I understand you are powerful, but right now, your body isn't as strong as it should be. Please, allow me to assist you, at least. It'll give me peace of mind."

Kimi turns her face away from Cirno to hide her pink cheeks, then says "alright, alright already! I-if it'll shut you up, I'll stay with you!"

Cirno pats Kimi's head, messing her hair up, making her grumble as she combs herself again, then grabs the large beret from the ground, places it back on Kimi's head, then says "come, let's go with the others."

Kimi grabs Cirno's hand, and as they start their walk to the other side of the island, Kimi says "boy, I never expected this from you. Before this spell struck, you were so dumb and weak, you couldn't even shoot and think at the same time. Now look at you. Acting all grown-up and smart, and showing off some power too. I'm impressed."

Cirno smiles at Kimi, though her eyes hide under a dark shadow as she says "th-thank you Kimi... but you are being too blunt."

Cirno recovers and smiles, as Kimi says "hey, it's better to be honest, right?"

Cirno giggles and says "I guess you're right about that."

A pair of shadows fly next to then, and when they look up, they see Remilia, Sakuya, who holds an umbrella over her mistress, and Meiling, who is riding on Remilia's back, then Cirno says "oh, it's the vampire. Wonder where she's going in such a hurry."

In the sky, Sakuya says "my lady, are you going to let that ice fairy do as she pleases? She raised more of those orbs, and some are even floating in the air."

Remilia calmly says "we'll cross that bridge if we ever get there, Sakuya. Right now, I want you to focus on our current task."

Sakuya nods and flies closer, covering her mistress as best as she can, then Remilia says "don't worry about it too much, Sakuya. These are one of the set of clothes that Rika prepared for me."

Sakuya nods again, but continues to protect her mistress from the rays of the sun, to the best of her ability, as she always has.

* * *

By the time Remilia, Sakuya and Meiling reach the Hakurei Shrine, it's already dark.

Remilia holds Meiling's legs as she lands so she doesn't fall off her back, and right after Sakuya lands next to her, she asks "Sakuya, doesn't it seem too quiet here?"

Before Sakuya can answer, a little girl shouts "ATTACK~"

It's Reimu, and she's followed by Rika and Sanae, as they charge Remilia and Sakuya.

When Remilia tightens her grip on Meiling, she and Sakuya notice she is gone, and when they look to little Reimu and her small army, they quickly find Meiling running along with them, smiling and giggling with glee.

Remilia, face lights up as she happily shouts "crap! Sakuya! They are too cute!"

Sakuya's face is filled with both ecstasy and terror as the girls get closer, and asks "is there an adult here?"

The shrine's doors slide open on their own, and inside, Suika has Hina and Hatate swinging by her side-horns, while Hina, Kyo and the RKNS are trying to pull her down to the floor by her arms, and Luna, Keine and Renko just stare at them and cheer on.

Remilia shouts "it's no use! This army is just too strong!"

Sakuya shouts "now it's not the time, my lady! RUN!"

Before they can run, Reimu, Meiling and Sanae jump on Remilia, who pretends to fall down with them while holding them tight, and Rika jumps on Sakuya, who grabs hold of her, as she says "sorry about that, miss Sakuya. Reimu's orders. It's kind of fun too."

Sakuya chuckles and says "well I'm not dropping to the ground."

Suddenly, all the giggles and laughs stop, when little Mima and little cat Maribel fly down from the roof, then Mima angrily asks "what's with all the racket?"

A few moments later, everyone is kneeling on the floor on cushions, listening to Remilia, who holds both Reimu and Meiling, and sits them on her lap, while saying "...and Koakuma said she would help, but she says she'll only help when properly 'persuaded'."

Sakuya sighs and says "that's when she took Patchouli with her and flew to the top-floor shelves."

Reimu laughs, then looks up at Remilia says "serves her right. But why come here and tell us all of this? You should have 'persuaded' her, so this could all end already!"

Remilia sighs and says "she said that Flan and I are too strong, and that it would be cheating. As for Sakuya, she said something about respecting her, and said she wanted something else."

Sakuya's face turns beet red as she whispers "th-that's enough of that, my lady."

Remilia stares at Sakuya with curiosity, then turns her attention to Suika and says "so we came here looking for someone to fight her, so what do you say, miss oni?"

Suika rubs her forehead, then looks at Remilia and says "what kind of example would that be for the children? Fighting like that! Nope, absolutely not. I'll go talk to her, but that's it, I won't go and... huh?"

Hina stands up in the middle of the conversation, then casually walks toward Remilia. She looks at the vampire, waves her fingers, then smiles.

In a second, she grabs Reimu's sleeve and Meiling's beret, and quickly removes them from their owners and drops them on the floor.

Reimu and Meiling gasp and stare at Hina with little scowl on their faces, but suddenly both start to hyperventilate, then break down to cry out loud.

Remilia panics and softly says "ack, wait. Don't cry, little ones."

Hina sticks out her tongue and does a rude noise at them, then Remilia angrily says "why you little monster! Sakuya!"

Sakuya stands up and says "little lady, it seems I'll have to teach you some proper manners!"

Hina jumps just as Sakuya lunges at her, then lands on top of Sakuya's back and runs out the door, followed by the RKNS, stops at the porch and turns around, pulls down on her lower eyelid, then says in sing-song "you can't catch me! You're too slow!"

From her left, Nitori jumps out from under the floor and grabs Hina, then says "HA! Got you!"

Hina struggles and shouts "no fair! Let me go, you big meanie!"

Nitori smile triumphantly and says "no way, little missy. Nothing, and I mean nothing is gonna convince me to let you go!"

A large golden washtub falls from the ceiling and lands right on top of Nitori's head, knocking her down and effectively freeing Hina from the kappa's hands.

Hina giggles as she runs away and says "that was very unfortunate! You're gonna need more luck than THAT to catch me!"

Before anyone say another word, Momiji holds Aya and Hatate on her lap, and has them sleeping as she gently combs their hair, and says "I told her she should have worn gloves."

Everyone else inside the shrine gasp and look surprised at Momiji, who smiles and wags her tail, as she says "oh that's right! Tomorrow's edition of the Wolf View Report Newspaper will arrive to your houses as scheduled."

Everyone keeps quiet and stare at Momiji and the little crow tengu, all wondering how did she get inside without being noticed.

* * *

At the Human Village, inside Keine's school, Medicine and Su-San struggle to untie Mokou, Medicine saying "for a little girl, she tied these very tight. Ahh, there we go!"

After hours and attempts, Mokou is finally free from the ropes, and immediately runs toward the bathroom, shouting "they went to the shrine! Let's get them!"

Medicine asks "what are you doing?"

Mokou replies "I've been suck in there for HOURS! I thought I was going to explode!"

Mokou walks out of the bathroom with a satisfied look on her face, and after a loud sigh, she says "alright, let's get the kids!"

Mokou trips on a very thin wire, and from the ceiling, a blond girl with short hair that reaches her shoulder, wearing a black hat with black clothes, falls and lands on Medicine's hand, smiling while holding a timer that's on 06 seconds and counting down to zero.

Medicine asks "what's this?"

Mokou asks "who are you, little girl?"

The little girl giggles and says "YUKI~ And your time is up. BOOM!"

The entire school is suddenly engulfed in fire from inside, and Minoriko, Mokou and Medicine find themselves running back and forth, picking buckets of water and pouring it on the fire, while little Shizuha and Yuki continue to smile, watching them struggle to turn off the fire.

Yuki looks to the night sky and asks "why don't they ask me to turn it off for them, I wonder?"

Shizuha answers "they're adults. What else did you expect?"

It's a warm summer night at the village, and the available neighbors rush toward the brightly flaming school, helping the two girls turn off the fire before it consumes all.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Kyo, the Rabid Karate Night Sparrow, Kimi and Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

JUN 12 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.


	3. Chapter 3

It's early morning at the Sanzu River, and little Komachi, whose hair is just a little shorter, matching her tiny body, lies on her back against a tree, next to her now-excessively large scythe, sleeping away while some spirits float around her, rubbing her hair and making her smile.

Shikieiki stands right in front of her, looking normal, no changes at all to her appearance, staring at Komachi.

She thinks "look at her. Sleeping on the job again. She looks so cute! No! Eiki, you mustn't! She's slacking on the job, so you HAVE to punish her."

Shikieiki stares at her sword, then thinks "but this is just too big for her now. I mean, she is my subordinate, I know, but this would just be plain cruel."

Shikieiki looks around and gasps happily, bends down, and when she rises again, she holds a small, but sturdy-looking stick.

She stares at it for a while, aim's at Komachi, then smacks her hard on the head with the stick.

Komachi jumps in shock and falls on her face.

Shikieiki says "first you succumb to such spell and acquire the body of a small child, then you have the guts to sleep on the job, and so early too. Honestly Komachi, whatever am I going to do with you? You act like nothing's ever important, you—"

Shikieiki stops her lecture short, then stares at Komachi.

The little girl's eyes look swollen as small tears escape down her cheeks, her mouth has a big frown, and as she looks up to Shikieiki, her tear-filled eyes glisten with the faint morning light.

Shikieiki forgets everything and starts to blush, then Komachi begins to cry.

Shikieiki can't help it, so she drops on her knees and opens her arms, inviting Komachi to a hug, so the little crying shinigami accepts and jumps on Shikieiki, crying on her belly as her boss says "there, there, I'm sorry, Komachi. Just try to work a little harder."

Shikieiki's body starts to glow, and the bright silhouette of Shikieiki starts to grow.

After the light dims, Komachi feels something rather large, heavy and soft on her head, so she backs away and notices Shikieiki looks like a grown-up woman now.

Her hair is slightly longer, and her body is more shapely.

Shikieiki notices Komachi's stare and asks "what's wrong, Komachi?"

As Shikieiki stands up, Komachi points at her chest, and the yama gasps after noticing she's slightly taller than usual.

She stutters as she looks at her arms and legs, gasps when she notices her chest, which could rival Komachi's with ease, then pulls out her mirror and looks into it.

She starts to shiver, so Komachi asks "um, Eiki-sama? What's wrong?"

Shikieiki rushes back to the courthouse while shouting "keep up the good work, Komachi~"

In her room, Shikieiki has some sake, while looking into her mirror, admiring her new look, smiling and thinking "who knew this spell would benefit me so much!"

She takes a gulp from the tiny sake cup in her hands, then places it on her cupboard, in order to admire herself some more.

She suddenly gasps and notices how her body slowly shrinks back, then she excitedly whispers "no! The magic didn't set, and I am out of range!"

Later that day, Shikieiki stands under the same tree she found Komachi sleeping under, with a depressed look in her face.

From the distance, little Komachi asks "Shikieiki-sama! Are you alright?"

Shikieiki tries, but fails to hide the dangling tears that hang from her eyes as she turns to Komachi and replies "i-it's nothing... It's nothing at all."

She looks away from Komachi, then thinks "drat, the residue from the spell disappeared. I can't grow up again!"

* * *

At the Forest of Magic, in Ail's house, Budou finishes cleaning up some dishes and calls "little papa, don't forget to wash your hands!"

From the living room, Ail complains "aww! Why do I have to do that now?"

Budou places her hands on her hips after turning around with a scowl, and says "don't you talk back to me, mister! Go wash those hands this instant. Even though I gave you a spoon, you still used your hands to eat."

Ail sighs and grumbles as he unwillingly walks to the bathroom.

Budou watches him as he goes to the bathroom with a pout, and thinks "my, to think this used to be the other way around. It's kind of fun."

After a while, Budou enters the storage room of the house, followed shortly by Ail, and both look at their sleeping guest, Lily White.

She has shrunk, now fitting on a pillow as if it were a full-sized bed.

Budou giggles and whispers "she still hasn't noticed a thing."

Ail chuckles and says "maybe I should plant some firecrackers underneath that pillow, huh?"

Budou immediately grabs him and drags him out of the room, making him complain until they reach the living room, where Budou drops him on the couch there.

He looks up to Budou with a scowl, but before he speaks, his face relaxes, then he looks away as he holds his head and asks "what is wrong with me? I understand that I have regressed, but... I used to be peaceful and calm, not the brat I am now."

Budou sighs and gently pats his head, then says "I can only guess that, unlike in the world outside of here, in Gensokyo you feel more free, and thus, don't feel the need to hold back or keep yourself in check."

Ail stares into Budou's eyes, then says "you make one smart grown-up, you know that?"

Budou smiles and giggles, then says "well, I had a good papa."

Ail blushes and looks away, then Budou just grabs him and squeezes him between her arms in a tight hug, making him complain and kick the air, trying to break free.

She finally lets him go, admiring his red face, then smiles and says "don't forget, we're going to the shrine today."

Ail combs his hair with his fingers as the replies "yeah, yeah, I know. Hmm, I wonder if Sanae will be there?"

Budou narrows her eyes and smiles mischievously, but decides to hold back the urge to tease him, and save it for when Sanae's close by.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Alice's house, Shanghai's voice can be hear just outside the door as she calls "girls! It's time to wake up! Don't make me go get you like yesterday!"

Hourai adds "it's not our fault you two stayed playing around all night!"

Inside the house, from the corridor that leads to Alice's room, little Alice walks toward the couch in the living room, rubbing her sleepy eyes and yawning.

She's wearing her old attire, the blue ribbon, the pink dress with her blue apron, and her white socks, though she's not wearing her shoes.

She looks annoyed toward the kitchen, where Shanghai and Hourai can be heard preparing breakfast, and says "you guys are mean. I'm still very sleepy. And it was Marisa who didn't let me sleep! She kept kicking me all night."

From the corridor, another girl replies "na-ah. You were the one hugging my leg!"

It's little Marisa, whose hair is now very short, though she still has her braided sideburn, and wears her exact same clothes except for her hat, which didn't shrink with her.

She looks very sleepy as she walks toward little Alice, then says "you should make a body pillow, so you can hug that instead of my leg, you pervert."

Little Alice wakes up with fury, frowning and scowling at Marisa as she walks straight to her and plants her forehead against her, shouting "careful who you're calling a pervert, you sick witch! You're the one calling for 'Kourin~' all night!"

Marisa gasps and shouts "look who's talking! 'Mama Shinki, mama Shinki, let me sleep with you!' Pervert!"

Alice shivers with rage, then jumps on Marisa's head, and a fight unfolds.

They form a little cloud and move around the living room, punches, kicks and insults flying all over.

Two tiny shadows get inside the cloud, separate the two girls, revealing them with tears clinging to their eyes, their dresses all messed up, and their faces full of bruises, then knock their heads together.

The girls are tossed to the couch, where both rub their heads while looking in front of them, then Alice says "Sh-Shanghai, Hourai *sniffle* that hurt!"

In front of them are Shanghai and Hourai, both looking angrily toward the girls.

They are about the same size as before, however their bodies are much more curvy and shapely, especially Shanghai, who has an ample chest, unlike Hourai.

The two tiny women look at the girls, and Hourai angrily says "I know it's hard for you two, but you're behaving like BRATS!"

Shanghai sighs and says "look, as promised, we'll take you to the shrine today, but if you keep behaving like this, we'll go on our own. Now, are you two going to behave?"

Alice and Marisa's little faces are filled with dread after hearing Shanghai and Hourai's threats, then cry at the same time "we'll behave! We'll behave~"

Shanghai and Hourai looks at each other, then back at the two crying girls, then smile as they rub their heads.

There is a loud and sudden bang from the front door, where Shinki, who looks just like her own self, now stands in the doorway with a desperate and crazed look in her eyes, rapidly asking "is it true? Where is she? Where is SHE?"

The two little women lower their guard when they notice it's Shinki, but before they can speak, Shinki tackles them as she rushes straight to Alice, knocking Marisa off the couch as well.

She grabs and raises Alice to the air, looks at her with that crazed expression, then victoriously says "it's TRUE! Ha HA~ You are a little girl again!"

She hugs Alice tight almost cutting her respiration, and all Alice can do is try to breath to survive Shinki's hug.

Marisa sits up on the floor and looks up at Shinki with fright, then her lips wriggle, her eyes water, then she starts to bawl.

The two tiny women immediately rush to Marisa and rub her head, Hourai saying "there, there. It's alright."

Shanghai sighs, then looks at Shinki and says "gramma! I can't believe you'd do something so mean!"

Shinki smiles sheepishly, scratching her left cheek while saying "eh he heh, sorry about that."

She bends down and grabs Marisa, then embraces her and shakes her around, while saying "there, there, I'm sorry. That was too mean, so I'll make it up to you."

Marisa stops bawling, looks into Shinki's eyes, then hugs her back with a giggle after calming down.

Alice stares angrily from the couch, thinking "hey, that's MY mom! Go get your own!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at Eintei, everything is calm and very quiet.

A pair of white rabbits hop from the front yard to one of the storage houses behind the mansion.

Inside, they gather around a large futon in the middle of the room, accompanied by many other rabbits.

The futon expands, and a moan can be heard coming from it.

An arm frees itself from the covers and gently pushes them down, revealing a woman with bushy black hair that reaches just above her shoulders, wearing a long, pink dress.

She looks around with her red eyes, then a pair of white rabbit ears flop down to her face.

It's Tewi, and she's just woken up, rubbing her eyes, while smiling and with a sweet, grown-up voice, she says "that's odd. Reisen should be here to wake me up by now. Heheh, maybe she's got her hands full already."

Right after saying that, she can hear Reisen calling "Tewi~ I can hear you in there! Please, I need your help! KYAH!"

There is a loud crash and the sound of glass shattering, then Reisen groaning.

Tewi continues to smile and says "heh, so predictable."

Inside the mansion, Kaguya jumps out of nowhere, rolls on the ground, letting her long hair roll around along with her, and when she stops, she's a tiny girl, smirking and playfully saying "you see? I'm a princess after all. You can't win!", then rolls away.

A small, short, silver haired girl jumps to where Kaguya was, and with a confident smile, she says "nice try, but Udonge is still eons away from beating me!"

Reisen gets up from the ground, rubbing her back and clenching her teeth.

Her body is more shapely now, and her girlish face now looks more motherly as well as wise, and he short skirt is replaced by a long pink skirt that covers her down to her ankles.

She looks toward the endless corridor to the rooms and shouts "wait, don't do that, it's gonna..."

There is another loud crash, accompanied by a bang, then the girls giggle as their little footsteps sound fainter.

Tewi enters the living room and stares at Reisen, the turn over tables, couches, and the messy dinner table, then looks at the kitchen and sees glass all over the floor, then giggles.

Reisen growls and says "quit your giggle and help me already! They've been very restless this morning!"

Tewi chuckles, then says "alright already. Calm down, I'll help."

Reisen calms down and smiles, and after a long sigh, she says "this spell has affected us all so much. You're actually helping around, and Master and the Princess... they really are children."

Tewi grabs a wide broom out of thin air and starts sweeping the floor, picking up the glass as she says "but you do know this spell will wear off, right? I mean, once things go back to normal, I'm gonna collect for all the 'helping' I've done lately."

Reisen sweats as she giggles nervously, then says "r-right. I'm not really looking forward to that."

There is silence between them for some time, while little Eirin and little Kaguya laugh in the distance, then Tewi stops sweeping, smiles at Reisen, then says "focus on now, Reisen. Those two need our full attention."

Reisen looks toward the endless corridor, then says "you're right. I'm sorry."

Hiding behind the doorway to the center yard is little Hina, snickering while looking with mischievous eyes toward Reisen and Tewi, and the little RKNS on her shoulder staring at Hina and peeping softly into her ear, making her giggles mischievously.

* * *

Flying toward the Hakurei Shrine, are Shanghai and Hourai, Marisa, who has some trouble with her broom, yet manages to fly, and Alice, who is being held by Shinki since she refuses to let go of her daughter.

Hourai flies above Marisa, making her look up and ask "hey, how come you stayed so mall. I was hoping, since you are adults, that you'd at least look like dwarves."

Hourai blushes and replies "that's some sick imagination you have there."

Shanghai hurries to Hourai's side, then looks at Marisa while holding Hourai by her shoulders, then says "all we can guess is that... since these bodies were originally the bodies of dolls, they don't grow like humans or youkai."

While Shanghai explains, Alice looks at Shinki and asks "mom, how come you didn't change at all? From what that newspaper said, even the gods from the mountain changed."

Shinki giggles and whispers "she's so darn cute", then says "the effects of that spell were quite random down at Makai. Some grew up, other grew down, and some stayed the same."

At Pandemonium, a small, long. blond haired maid cries next to a pile of rubble.

She gets carried up by a tall woman dressed in white, with long light-blue hair, and as she holds the little maid against her chest, she softly says "there, there, it's alright, Yumeko. I told you to wait until you grew up again, didn't I."

Little Yumeko sniffles as she looks at Mai with her big, glassy, tear filled, yellow eyes and sobs "but... I... have... to... clean... Ma *sob* Mai *sob*"

Mai give Yumeko a hug and says "geez, why did you have to go and shrink like that? And where's Yuki? I'm worried about her."

Yumeko presses her head against Mai's breasts, then hugs them as she uses them as pillows.

Mai's face turns bright red, and she forcefully pulls Yumeko away from herself, exclaiming "HEY! What's the big idea, you little pervert?"

Yumeko starts to hyperventilate, then sobs rapidly and starts to cry.

Mai panics and presses Yumeko against her chest again, then says "sorry, sorry. Use me as a pillow, it's alright, I don't mind!"

Again, Yumeko uses Mai's breasts as pillows, and quickly falls asleep, while Mai sighs and says "geez, I keep forgetting she's just a child."

* * *

At the Hakurei Shrine's front yard, Marisa is the first to land and rush toward the shrine, while Hourai chases after her from above, and the others land and look around.

Alice looks up to Shinki and says "this place looks empty."

Shinki giggles and replies "Yumeko doesn't let me hold her like this."

Alice growls as a small steam cloud flies away from her angry red face, then asks "hello, are you even listening to me?"

From the shrine's entrance, Marisa calls "Reimu~ Are you in there? Rika? Mima?"

From inside, a boy asks "is that you, Sanae?"

Little Marisa gets steaming mad and shouts "who the hell are you calling Sanae, you idiot?"

As Hourai hovers down to grab, and calm Marisa down, the shrine doors slide open, and now Ail stands on the porch, glaring at Marisa while shouting "you could have just said you're Marisa, you idiot!"

Marisa replies "idiot's the one who calls you idiot!"

Ail smirks and crosses his arms as he says "and so she is."

Budou grabs Ail and scolds him, then says "I'm sorry, but Reimu's not here. Little papa and I are just about to head to the vampire's mansion."

Shanghai, and Shinki, who still holds on to Alice, head toward Budou, then Shanghai asks "how do you know?"

Rumia walks to the porch of the shrine, and to their amazement, she is grown up.

Her hair is long, her chest looks normal, and now she has black wings springing from her back, even though she has her ribbon on her hair.

She looks at Shanghai and says "Reimu asked us to take care of the shrine while she's away."

Before Alice speaks her mind, another little girl, this one with pale skin, tying her black hair in a small ponytail, and wearing black, tight clothes, walks to Rumia's side and says "she promised to tie our panties in a knot if we bailed, so it looks like we're stuck here, dammit all!"

Rumia smiles and says "don't mind Agava. She's just a little mad because she grew down instead of up, like me."

Agava growls as she looks up to Rumia and grumbles "but my stupid shadow grew up! Why couldn't I grow up?"

Alice takes a breath of air, but before she can speak, she is interrupted again, this time by the shriek of a woman that appears out of nowhere.

Hearts fly all over Ayalina's head as she almost tackles Budou to take little Ail from her arms and exclaims "KYAH! So it's true! My baby is a baby again!"

Ail's face is filled with horror as he tries, but fails to escape his mother's grasp, shouting "MOM! Wait, mom! How did you know? ACK! Someone save me! Budou!"

Budou backs away from Ayalina, saying "no way! She almost took me down just to get you. Besides..."

Ayalina tightens her grip around Ail, growling at anyone that's close to them, while Budou says "I don't think she's letting you go that easy."

Marisa smirks as Hourai and Shanghai lift her to the air, and says "heh, what a mama's boy."

Suddenly, Shinki is following the two little women, then Budou starts to flap her wings, saying "come on, gramma Ayalina. We're going to find miss Hakurei sis."

Ayalina smiles and slowly lifts to the air, holding Ail the same way Shinki's holding Alice, her child pressed against her chest, and says "then let's go. I want to ask her how to make this permanent!"

Budou is dumbstruck at Ayalina's carefree words, and now, Shinki flies closer to Ayalina and both start talking about their little babies while following after Shanghai, Hourai and Marisa.

Budou is the last to leave, waving at Rumia and Agava, saying "see you later", while Rumia waves back, and Agava walks back inside the shrine, grumbling.

Rumia sighs, then says "I guess I can try and prepare something to eat for when everyone returns."

Agava gasps and exclaims "you can cook?"

* * *

Back at Eintei, Hina clings on to the ceiling, watching as Reisen walks down the eternal corridor.

Her mischievous crescent smile widens as her target gets closer, and right after Reisen walks by, Hina lets herself go and drop, then starts spinning around very fast, making herself looks like a red drill, then flies straight to the back of Reisen's head.

Just as Hina is about to hit, Reisen gasps and bends down, making Hina yelps and crash straight into one of the rooms, where the sliding door conveniently opens and closes on its own.

Reisen straightens up, looks around, then scratches her head and says "I swear I heard a voice just now. Oh well."

Hina pops herself right out of a silver bucket, grumbling to herself, then the little RKNS flies from nowhere a perches on her shoulder.

She looks at the bird and says "tch, no good. She has so much luck, even these young curses are no match."

The RKNS peeps contently, then Hina says "I see. Well, if you can take care of her, I'll take care of the moon rabbit."

The RKNS salutes Hina, then rushes out of the room.

Before Hina leaves, a woman says "and why would you want to pick on me?"

Hina twitches as she turns around with a terrified expression in her face, thinking that Reisen had found her. She is right, but she is also wrong.

Instead of the long, lilac haired grown-up Reisen, she sees the moon's own short, light-blue haired, grown-up Reisen, standing next to two little girls.

They are Toyohime, who wears her sandy-blonde hair on twin tails, and the other is Yorihime, whose short, light-blue hair hangs lose, reaching only her shoulders, and who is staring with a terrified expression toward Hina.

The little curse goddess sighs with relief as she says "phew. For a moment, I thought I had been caught."

Reisen 2 frowns as she places her hands on her shapely waist and says "and who says you haven't been caught. I heard what you were planning, so you're coming with me, young lady."

Hina bites on her thumb as she looks around for a way to escape.

She notices that the two little girls' hands are tied up, so with a glint in her eyes and a smirk on her face, Hina jumps in the air and starts to spin, and just as Reisen 2 tries to capture her, she uses the momentum of the spin, kicks Reisen 2 on her ankle, then rushes to the two girls and says "I'll let you go, but you have to play with me. Deal?"

The two girls silently nod, Yorihime almost trembling as she does, and Hina, using the curses in her, creates a magical blade that burns the ropes and frees the girls.

Toyohime squeals excitedly and shouts "GAME TIME!"

Yorihime blushes as she raises her hand and silently exclaims "y-yay~"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the kitchen, Tewi tastes her stew, smacking her lips and saying "needs more carrots."

There is a loud bang, and Reisen 2's scream that echoes all around the mansion.

Tewi drops her taste cup, letting it smash to the ground, then exclaims "oh, that was Reisen! Udonge, I think the Watatsukis are lose!"

She runs to the corridor, but promptly stops in the living room after seeing the two little moon princesses standing on the corridor's entrance, smiling mischievously at her.

Tewi smiles and says "well, I guess it's up to me again, isn't it?"

Yorihime and Toyohime take a step forward and immediately get caught by their ankles with a rope, however, the rope snaps before the girls can get lifted up, making Tewi exclaim "whoa, that's some mayor bad luck there for me!"

Before she can react, a large silver washtub falls right on her head, knocking her out to the ground, where she groans and says "uuh, I didn't set that trap. What's going on here?"

Tewi hears a peep from the ceiling, and when she looks up, her eyes fill with terror after she spots the little RKNS with another washtub on its claws.

She manages to push herself up and back, avoiding the second washtub to the head, but falls on a pitfall made on the floor behind her.

From the hole, Tewi shouts "UDONGE~ We have trouble!"

Reisen 2 peeks her head on the hole, tears clinging to her eyes as she smiles and says "they got backup!"

The Watatsuki sisters giggle after they toss Reisen 2 into the hole, then cover it up with a carpet.

Back at the corridor, Reisen runs to the living room to assist Tewi, but the spinning Hina lands right on the back of her head, knocking her down and making her rub herself, shouting "ow~! What the hell?"

Reisen looks behind her and spots Hina, then asks "young lady, who are you? Why are you attacking me like this?"

Hina turns around and bends down, then spanks herself on her butt while waving it around and saying in sing-song "you can't catch me~"

She turns around again and does a rude noise with her tongue, then says "LOSER!"

Reisen would normally get mad at this, but instead, she concernedly asks "little girl, where's your mother? Are you lost?"

Hina grunts and simply runs away, making Reisen stand up and chase after her, concernedly saying "wait, little girl! Don't run away! Let me help- KYAH!"

Reisen feels a tug on her ankles and suddenly finds herself falling to the floor again.

When she recovers, she looks to her feet and sees little Eirin and little Kaguya holding her legs down.

She gets angry and exclaims "hey, you two! I could have gotten hurt!"

Eirin and Kaguya look at each other, giggle, then run toward the living room.

Reisen grumbles as she gets up and then shouts "you two come BACK here!"

She chases after the girls, who have stopped right in front of a regal red carpet.

Reisen runs toward them, then jumps over the carpet and the girls, landing right behind all, then says "you think I'm gonna fall for that?"

Reisen suddenly jumps toward the kitchen, avoiding a dented silver washtub, turns off the fire from the stove, rolls on the ground, avoiding another washtub, then jumps again, avoiding yet another hole on the ground.

She stands proudly and says "you're gonna need more than that to get me."

Hina jumps on her head, stomps on her rapidly, then jumps away, leaving Reisen in a daze.

The Watatsukis take this opportunity to push her off balance, and as she stumbles around, Eirin kneels on the ground between Reisen and the carpet-covered hole, making her trip and fall straight down the hole to accompany Tewi and Reisen 2.

Tewi grabs Reisen and lifts her from the ground, pulling the carpet from her face, then exclaims "Udonge, are you alright?"

Reisen dizzily replies "soich, is de maplo."

Reisen 2 smiles and says "she's fine", then looks up and says "but those little monsters are lose, and on their own."

Tewi sighs and says "geez, I hope they can keep safe while we get out."

* * *

At the Scarlet Mansion's island, Daiyousei runs as fast as she can, holding on to little Letty, who is sobbing while being embraced.

Daiyousei's beautiful wings are ruined, one missing and the other in tatter, so all she can do is run.

As she does, she desperately calls "Cirno! Anyone! Please help us!"

She trips and falls to the ground, making little Letty cry after they hit the ground.

Behind them are the familiar pair of multicolored crystal wings of Flandre, who walks to them with an annoyed look, and says "you dare pour ice down Meiling's pants and think you're going to get away with it? You are gravely mistaken."

Daiyousei grabs Letty and embraces her, looking at Flandre and shouting "they are just children! She was only playing!"

Flandre raises her hand and points it at Daiyousei's shoulder, then clenches it, then the fairy's shoulder explodes, making her drop Letty.

Fighting against the pain, Daiyousei whispers "Letty, run. Hide! Don't let her get you!"

Letty cries "no! You have to come with me!"

Flandre walks toward Letty with a crazed, rage-filled look on her face while saying "I won't kill her, but I will punish her severely!"

She reaches for the trembling girl, but stops when a clam woman's voice says "miss vampire, if there's a problem, we can talk about it like civilized people."

Flandre looks back with the corner of her eye, then smiles and says "I see, so the other one grew up as well. And look at that, you're taking care of the little baby dragon."

Kimi growls and shouts "I can still kick your butt around, you-"

Cirno places her hand in front of Kimi's face, signaling her to quiet down, then floats down in front of Flandre and says "please, don't hurt the children. She was just playing... weren't you, Letty?"

Letty sits next to the ruined fairy beside her and nods rapidly.

Cirno smiles and says "see? So why don't we calm down so we can-"

Flandre lifts her hand again, this time holding her undulated black rod, but Cirno creates an ice wall in an instant, startling Flandre, then encircles the vampire with her ice and forms a dome around Flandre.

She turns to Daiyousei and says "even if we are deathless, the damage is just brutal."

Daiyousei manages a weak laugh, even though she's in so much pain.

Cirno smiles and says "good thing I learned this just now."

Cirno grabs a spell card and softly says "Fresh Recovery"

The card glows green and simply disappears, surrounding Cirno in a minty glow.

The ice fairy places her hands on Daiyousei's forehead, and in almost an instant, the great fairy is fully healed and even her wings completely restored, but she now lies unconscious on the ground.

Cirno sweats as she bites the back of her finger, then whispers "guess it needs some work."

Flandre starts to beat her way out of the thick ice dome, so Cirno grabs Letty and Kimi by their hands, then says "take Dai-chan to the playground and stay in there until I come and get you."

Kimi bravely says "you are nuts. Let me at her, I'll kick her butt so hard!"

Cirno grabs Kimi by her shoulder and stares into her eyes. Kimi stares back for a moment, then sighs and says "alright, alright. I'll protect them for you."

Cirno smiles, then turns around to face Flandre, just as she escapes her icy prison, smiling wickedly at Cirno.

Flandre raises her finger at Cirno and says "I'll get you with just one spell card, you weakling. You may use as many as you want, though. It won't make a difference."

Cirno gets angry, but manages to hide her anger as she says "one will be more than enough. I am the st... I am confident in my skills."

* * *

In an instant, Cirno and Flandre speedily move around the cloudy sky, showering each other with danmaku, Cirno using large icicles, while Flandre uses her scarlet orbs.

Both dodge each others' attacks with ease, losing a few pieces of their clothes as the bullets graze them.

Flandre risks getting hit, and flies along with her own bullets to reach Cirno, where she tries to strike the ice fairy with her black rod, but she is met by a surprise when Cirno makes an ice block so strong, it makes Flandre's strike recoil at full force, gaining the upper hand and landing a few icicles on the stunned vampire's arms.

Flandre backs away and growls with rage, then smiles and pulls out a spell card and shouts "Forbidden Barrage, Starbow Break!"

She smiles wickedly toward Cirno while still holding on to the glowing spell card, then widens her smile and adds "Swirl."

She releases the spell card, and the moment it disappears, countless orbs of many colors fly fast and randomly at Cirno in a straight pattern.

Cirno manages to find gaps between the bullets and seems to be dancing while dodging.

Flandre smiles, and after a quick flash, the orbs don't just fall straight , but now also start moving in a circular motion, some to the left, and other to the right.

Cirno is now having some trouble dodging the barrage, but she still manages to survive long enough.

She notices one of the orbs comes in too close, so she instinctively pulls out a spell card and shouts "Ice Sign, Icicle Fall!"

Flandre scoffs and says "you're using that spell? WEAK! I already know how pathe- wait."

Cirno's card floats in the air for a moment, then disappears, just as giant icicles fly around Flandre in straight lines.

Cirno smiles and giggles, and large icicles form around the left and right of their battle field, the left ones swaying around, and the right ones zigzagging at inconsistent speeds.

Flandre gasps and exclaims "hey, that's cheating! Marisa always said this spell was pathetic!"

Fury takes Cirno, making it evident in her slowly burning face, then she suddenly starts shooting lasers straight at Flandre, thinking she's fighting against Marisa.

Cirno smiles and asks "how do you like me now, Marisa?"

Flandre shouts "HEY, OUCH! WAIT!"

Flandre is overwhelmed by the icicles and the lasers, and is quickly brought down.

After Flandre falls, Cirno stops and covers her mouth as she gasps and says "oh no, I lost control there! Vampire! Miss vampire, are you alright?"

Grumbling on some bushes, Flandre gets up on her feet and says "y-you got lucky!"

From behind her, a fist with a wrist cuff smacks itself on Flandre's head, then Remilia's voice says "you two are a menace! You're scaring the kids!"

Behind Remilia, sniffling and trembling in fear, are Meiling, Rika and Reimu, and when Cirno notices them, she gasps and bows down, saying "I'm so sorry! I got carried away!"

From behind Cirno, a girl says "you're not kidding, ze!"

Cirno turns around, and behind her are little Marisa, Shanghai and Hourai staring concernedly at her and Flandre, and then there is Budou, Shinki and Ayalina.

Ail and Alice are still trapped in their mothers' grasp, and look at each other through the corner of their eyes with an unamused and annoyed expression, letting their arms and legs hang in the air.

Cirno bows to them and says "I'm so very sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Before Marisa can speak, Hourai wraps her arm around the little magician, while Shanghai says "it's alright. You were just defending the young ones. Now, where is miss... oh I see."

Shinki and Ayalina both gasp and smile, then say at the same time "so cute!"

With a concerned expression in her face, Shanghai says "then it's like we thought. You're a child too."

Remilia sighs and says "look, we're going to try and convince Koakuma to let Patchy go, so she can tell us how to reverse this spell. You are all welcome to come inside, ONLY if you think you can help."

Ayalina smiles and says "Remilia~ I am a friend~"

Remilia twitches as her eyes hide under shadow, then says "er, right, of course."

* * *

That night, at Eintei, Reisen, Reisen 2 and Tewi finally manage to escape the hole, and immediately scout around the completely messed up living room.

Tewi suddenly gasps and exclaims "check the rooms!"

The two moon rabbits and the rabbit youkai run straight to one specific room, and there they find all the little ones, including Hina and the little sparrow, sleeping on the ground, scattered all over the room's floor.

The rabbits sigh with relief, then Tewi points at Hina and the little sparrow, then says "those little monsters REALLY caused some trouble!"

Reisen 2's eyes glint as she asks "what sort of punishment are we to deliver?"

Reisen walks past the two scheming rabbits, then tenderly grabs Hina and softly says "let's leave that for later. Right now they need their sleep."

Tewi and Reisen 2 stare at the moon rabbit as she goes to the closet and starts pulling out futons and spreading them on the floor.

After placing all the children in the futons, the three rabbits exit the room and head straight to the destroyed living room, where they promptly start picking everything up.

Tewi stops and stares at Reisen, then says "spill it! How come you are being so soft on them?"

Reisen stares at Tewi, then Reisen 2 stops from picking up the sofa to look at Reisen, then says "honestly, I wanted to at least spank their mischievous little butts!"

Reisen smiles and says "I-I'm sorry. I don't understand why, but seeing them sleeping like that soothed my heart. And also..."

Tewi sighs and smiles, then says "you're becoming a mother, as expected of Udonge. But I will admit, I feel different too."

Reisen 2 smiles and says "well I feel just fine. Sure, I want to take care of the princesses, but I don't feel like their mother, or anything like that."

The three rabbits stand around looking at each other, then Reisen suddenly starts to laugh, followed by Tewi, then Reisen 2, all laughing away, forgetting all the misfortunes they went through that day.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside one of Cirno's floating ice orbs above the Misty Lake, Cirno helps Daiyousei on to a sofa that sits in the middle of what looks like a large house, that although is made of ice, is quite warm and welcoming.

Daiyousei holds her head and says "whoa, everything is spinning."

Cirno gives her a glass of water she pulls out of a floating ice cube and says "thank you for taking care of Letty for me."

Daiyousei drinks her water and flaps her wings while glaring at Cirno, then says "you didn't come, even after I press the button! I was scared. That vampire was going to kill us, Cirno!"

Cirno turns around and says "I know, I'm sorry. I was looking for that Kali, but we couldn't find her anywhere."

Daiyousei looks at Cirno, even though she's looking away, and says "this body is also a burden. I want to go back to normal! I am a fairy, not some human or youkai! And come to think of it, what are you, Cirno-chan? You've been acting so different, and your powers... What are you?"

Cirno turns around to face Daiyousei with a confused and frightened expression, but before she can answer, Daiyousei angrily says "oh forget it. I-I'm going to sleep. I'm... still a bit shaken. Good night, Cirno-chan."

Cirno sadly whispers "good... good night, Dai chan", and watches as her friend goes to the rooms through another ice wall that seems to be an illusion.

Cirno sighs and raises her hands to look at them, then asks "what am I?"

Cirno feels a tap on her calf, and when she looks behind herself, little Letty stands there while looking up.

Cirno asks "what is it, Letty?"

The little girl smiles and raises her hands, asking Cirno to pick her up, and once on Cirno's arms, she hugs the ice fairy's neck and says "you are Cirno, the strongest fairy of them all. And you are a good friend, and smart, and very kind, and very strong."

Letty kisses Cirno's cheek, jumps off her arms, and as she rushes to the same ice wall as Daiyousei, she turns around, waves at Cirno, then goes through the magical wall.

Cirno stands on the middle of the magical living room, smiling and blushing, repeating Letty's words in her mind.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Agava, the RKNS, Kimi, Kali and Ayalina were created by Willie G.R.

Cirno's "Fresh Recovery" spell card was created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

JUN 19 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Wow, I really took my time with this chapter, didn't I? Well, aside from laziness form my part at first, I suddenly lost the desire to write. Just lost my happy there. Thankfully I got it back, and it will hopefully stay. Aside from that, I used too much sugar for this ending here, LOL. But I like sweet stuff (my sweet tooth is evil I say), so it's ok. There are some more of the cast to show, so before this incident is solved, we'll be having some more chapters. Maybe Hina will lend a hand in extending this spin off. Ah well. See you next chapter, if the spirits will allow!**

**On a special note, for those of you who are curious, the idea for this spin-off came when Snapshot and I were talking about "what-ifs" scenarios in Gensokyo. This idea seemed like the most fun at the time, and it's proving to be quite fun, really. Also, know that although it would be hilarious, I won't be making Yukari into an older hag. I know, I know, that would have been PRICELESS, but she threatened me with a rubber chicken... and that... you can't ignore things like that.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

It's early morning at the Bamboo Forest.

The bamboo shoots are being unsettled by a grown up, shy kappa girl, who is searching everywhere for the little mischievous curse goddess.

Nitori pulls out a container and starts drinking from it, after she's done she swipes the excess water from her lips with her forearm, sighs contently, then says to herself "boy, I sure am lost here. Oh, I hope I can find her soon. I don't like being so far from home for so long."

She places the water container back into her backpack, and immediately afterward, she is startled by a rapid beeping sound.

She removes the backpack from her back and places it on the ground, then searches frantically within it.

She gasps and smiles with excitement after finding the beeping item, pulling it out and revealing a small rectangular box we know as a 2-way radio.

She presses a big red button on the right side of the item and says "this is Nitori. I'm still searching for her, over."

At first, there only static, which makes Nitori a bit nervous and call "he-hey, can you hear me over there? Is everything alright? Over."

The static clears up, and the voice of a boy says "yes, I can hear you already. So, you're still searching for her? Er, over..."

Nitori smiles and excitedly says "oh, it's you! Is everything alright? Do you need anything? Over."

The boy replies "umm, I'm sorry for being a nuisance, but I can't reach my glasses... over."

Nitori thinks for a moment, looking up at the sky as she hums, then looks back at the radio and asks "then why don't you ask the robots to help? Over."

The boy replies "they're on strike again. This time they're asking for a cucumber boat, and cucumber soda. O-over."

Before pressing the button, Nitori giggles and says "they can be so efficient", then presses the button on the radio and says "alright, go to them and find their leader. I think it's Julia this week. Tell her I said that she is to assist you on ANYTHING you may need, then give her the code 'KEROMINA 69'. There should be no problem after that, over."

There is silence for a moment, worrying Nitori a bit, but the boy suddenly speaks in a strangely suspicious tone of voice, saying "thank you so very much, Nitori. You are a real friend... Over."

The radio shuts itself off as soon as the contact is broken, and Nitori stands with a bright, wide smile on her face as she stares at nowhere.

She breathes in deeply, then says "I am his friend! I am so happy!"

She places the radio back inside her backpack, places it on her back once again, and before setting off again, her eyes glint as she smiles widely and says "this proves that kappa and humans really ARE friends! HA! Take THAT, Mima and Marisa!"

As she continues her search, she happily speaks to herself, about how she's going to unite the kappa and the humans even more, and become a model for future kappa generations.

Meanwhile, hiding between the bamboo shoots right behind her, a pair of mischievous green eyes stare straight at the kappa, shortly accompanied by a wide, jagged toothed, crescent smile.

* * *

At the Garden of the Sun, from a small house surrounded by sunflowers, a window is smashed from within, and out comes a blonde vampire.

Kurumi, who has grown a few inches taller, falls face-down on the ground, just a few inches away from the safety of the house's shadow.

She gets up and notices the sunlight inches away from touching her skin, so she panics as she bounces up, revealing her shapely body and large chest, then rushes to the door and starts banging her fists against it with despair, shouting "I'm SORRY~ Yuka-sama, forgive me! I'll never speak of my breasts again!"

Inside, a tiny Yuka, whose only change is her stature and body shape, looking like a petite girl, stares casually at the door and casually says "boy, she can get noisy, can't she."

Walking to Yuka's side, being taller than Yuka herself, Elly looks down and says "well, she is afraid of the sun, miss Yuka."

Elly's hair is now more loose, making Yuka question the curls she had before, but when Yuka takes a better look, a vein pops on her forehead as the grinds her teeth in rage, then asks "why the hell are you taller than me?"

Elly panics and stutters, unable to find a suitable excuse, then tries to run away, but Yuka manages to grab hold of her hair and tosses Elly against the door, bursting it open and sending both Elly and Kurumi flying toward the sunlight.

Kurumi starts to cry loudly as the sunrays burn away her skin, clenching her eyes and awaiting her inevitable death, but the burning stops when a large shadow casts itself over her.

Kurumi slowly opens her eyes and sees Elly's dress covering her lower half, while Elly herself is standing next to her with her white undergarments exposed.

The other half of the shade is caused by Yuka herself, who stands to the left with a smile on her face as she holds her umbrella over her servant.

Kurumi smiles and her cheeks turn pink as tears of joy escapes her eyes, then she says "Yukarin, you do care!"

Yuka's natural smile turns to a wicked grin as she bends down and says "I know, it's just my nature. But it is also my nature to collect debts."

Kurumi shivers and almost instantly kneels up, bows down until her forehead touches the ground, then says "I offer my meager services as payment for Yuka's blooming kindness!"

Yuka smiles more naturally as she says "good girl. Now let's go back to the house so you can cook me something to eat."

Kurumi grabs Yuka, and rushes back to the house with her, while Elly properly dresses up again.

By the time she's done, she realizes she's been shut out, so she rushes to the door and tries to open it with all her might, screaming "Yukarin, let me in! Come on, I'm a good servant too! Look, I'll even cut my legs if you want!"

From inside, Yuka's girly voice calmly replies "nah, you're good. Just... stay out there for a while and guard that door. After dinner, I'll be punishing Kurumi, so no peeking!"

Elly shudders as she positions herself next to the door, then her face turns blue as she imagines little Yuka 'punishing' Kurumi with a face so full of joy.

Elly cannot take anymore and turns around, immediately banging on the door, shouting "please, punish me too! Please, miss Yuka!"

The door bursts open again, sending Elly flying, and the moment Yuka peeks outside, Elly somehow appears clinging on her leg.

Yuka stares with grimace at Elly and says "you are even more disgusting as a chi—"

A mysterious red ball comes bouncing out of nowhere and heading toward the sunflower field, making Yuka's eyes sparkle with excitement, then she runs after the ball, saying "ball, ball, yay! Bouncy, bouncy red ball!"

* * *

At the Myouren Temple, a dark figure with a curvy body and a giant head watches, as two little girls and a woman pass their time in the temple's front yard.

The woman is Nazrin, whom aside from her now well shaped body, her chest is still small, and her hair, though bushy, is still short.

She lies on the ground, surrounded by many mice, with her back against a wall and her eyes shut.

She opens her left eye and yells "oi~ You two be careful! If either of you falls, I'm going to laugh long before I help you back up!"

The two little girls reply "ok~", then continue to laugh and giggle.

The first girl is Shou, who is only wearing her red dress and tiger-print apron.

Her hair remains short, and her face somewhat resembles that of a cat.

She runs around, giggling and saying "try and catch me~"

The second girl is Byakuren, whose hair is only a little shorter thank before, and is still gradient, with purple and light brown.

She wears her regular dress, which has shrunk with her, though her skirt seems to stay widely open on the bottom, making her look like a little black and white bell with booted legs.

She runs after Shou with her eyes clenched as she giggles, then stops, looks around, then yells "I'm gonna get you~", then closes her little eyes again and starts running around with her arms in the air.

From the temple, another woman comes outside, followed by two children and a cloud.

The woman is Nue, and her hair has grown down to her shoulders, and she still wears her same dress, though she constantly tries to pull down on the excessively short skirt, but stops as soon as she notices her chest is about to burst out.

She sighs and says "why the hell do I keep wearing this embarrassingly short dress?"

The girl next to her is Minamitsu, who looks just about the same, with her little sailor uniform, her tiny captain's hat, and little blue toy anchor on her left hand.

She's followed by little Ichirin, who wears her long, purple wavy hair lose without a hood, revealing a pair of large and pointy ears, and wears her white dress lose, making it look like a robe instead.

She looks up and softly says "hu-hurry up, Unzan."

Behind her comes Unzan, who is now a happy, fully haired little nyuudou, though by the looks of him, rubbing his face with his hand, it seems he's missing his beard.

While the next group joins with the first group, the hiding woman giggles and says to herself "perfect. More targets!", then makes a lot of noise as she moves closer to the temple.

Nue gets closer to Nazrin, who looks up with annoyance as how Nue has a chest to brag about while she doesn't, then says "if you keep wearing that dress, they're gonna pop."

Nue sighs and kneels down next to Nazrin, then says "I know, I know! Might a swell borrow one of Shou's or lady Hijiri's clothes in the meantime."

Nazrin smirks while looking toward the girls and away from Nue, then says "yes. Yes you should do that.", then whispers "the more you cover, the better."

Nue asks "what was that?"

Nazrin smiles at Nue and says "nothing at all."

Meanwhile, Byakuren, Shou, Ichirin, Unzan and the quiet Minamitsu all run farther away from the adults, playing a messy game of tag, when they all stop very suddenly, almost skidding.

Flying in front of them is the curvy figure with the giant head, that yells "BOO~ Uahahaha~ I'll eat you SOULS!"

The woman lands right in front of the children, revealing herself to be Kogasa, with a perfectly shaped body, long hair that reaches her lower back, her karakasa umbrella looks bigger and more decayed, and her face, at the moment, looks contorted and quite disgusting to look at.

All the children start to suddenly scream and cry at the same time, and all but Byakuren run straight toward Nue and Nazrin.

Kogasa laughs out loud, her contorted face returning to its beautiful, and bright state after she stops to look at the screaming kids while saying "heh, that was so refreshing! Who knew being bigger would work so well for scaring! Huh?"

She looks at Byakuren, who sits on the ground, rubbing her eyes while crying, then says "aww, now I feel bad."

She kneels next to Byakuren and pats her head while saying "I'm sorry. But you have to admit, that was a good scare."

Little Byakuren's bell-like dress sways as she kicks the ground and cries louder, and while Kogasa tries to cheer her up, she doesn't realize both Nazrin and Nue are standing just behind her, crossing their arms and tapping their feet on the ground.

By the time Kogasa notices she's got company, she already has one hand on each shoulder, and all she has time to say is "uh-oh."

* * *

At Eintei's front yard, Nitori snoops around, using some beeping machines with a small green screen, saying to herself "she was around here, but I can't seem to find her anywhere now."

Watching Nitori snoop around while drinking her tea on the porch, Reisen continues to stare for a bit longer, then asks "excuse me, miss, is there something I can help you with?"

Nitori jumps with a yelp and tries to disappear, but her optical camouflage suit malfunctions, leaving her exposed as she backs away against the walls of the gates.

Reisen slowly steps down, smiling peacefully toward Nitori, and softly saying "calm down, it's alright. I'm not mad. I'm just curious."

Nitori holds her forearms around her head for cover, but after hearing Reisen's voice, she slowly loosens her arms and looks up, then says "I-I... so-sorry to intrude, but I'm, uh, looking for Hina, a girl in a red dress and green hair. Um, have you seen her?"

Reisen gasps and says "oh my, I'm sorry. We left her sleeping with the other kids, but she disappeared this morning."

Nitori stands up, having gotten used to Reisen already, and angrily says "aww, cucumbers! I'm far behind after all."

Reisen smiles and says "I could help you find her. I mean, I'm a little worried about her."

Before Nitori can answer to that, a woman to Nitori's left says "well, miss Udonge. Nice to see you worry about someone else like that, especially a non-lunarian."

When the second the woman starts speaking, Nitori jumps high in the air after yelping, then lands on her feet while trembling.

Reisen casually asks "ah, Mystia, how are you?"

Nitori looks at Mystia while trembling, nods, then says "p-p-p-please don't sneak up on me."

Mystia has grown up, and is now tall, her hair reaches her shoulders, her wings and tail feathers have grown beautifully, sports a shapely figure, and has a decent chest.

She looks back at Nitori, bows, then says "sorry about that, miss. I just came to visit-"

Before Mystia can finish her sentence, a girl from the mansion exclaims "MYSTIA~ You're here!"

It's little Yorihime, and after calling for Mystia she runs out to meet with her.

Mystia kneels down to greet Yorihime with a light hug and a rub on the head, then says "we're going to the village today, so be on your best behavior."

Yorihime's smile disappears almost immediately, then she starts to stutter with doubt.

Mystia lightly pats the back of the child's head and says "come on, don't let shyness get the best of you. Besides, I'll be right there with you."

Reisen smiles and says "please take good care of her."

Mystia looks up and waves at Reisen, then says "sure thing. You can count on me."

Mystia puts on a curious face as she stands up, then looks to the gate and sees Wriggle.

She has also grown up, and although she has a noticeable womanly shape, her flat chest and long pants still makes them all question whether she's a woman or not.

Wriggle looks back at Mystia and notices the stare, so she angrily says "dammit all, I told you, I'm REALLY a girl!"

Mystia nervously laughs and says "alright, alright, I get it."

Nitori walks closer to Reisen and sounding polite, yet a bit impatient, she asks "hey, miss? What about Hina?"

Right after asking that, Reisen, Nitori, Mystia and Wriggle all trip and are suddenly being dragged on the ground, and before they know what's what, they all hand upside down, trapped by a rope on their ankles, Mystia and Reisen trying their best to hold their skirts up.

Nitori spots Hina and the little RKNS standing in the center of the yard, laughing while holding their cheeks, and shouts "ah, Hina! Please, let's go home already! I BEG YOU, come with me!"

Hina winks and sticks out her tongue, then says "ah, I told you, not until you catch me."

Nitori moans and just lets herself hang, letting everyone look at her dark blue shorts.

Yorihime runs toward Hina and says "please, Hina, let miss Mystia go! P-pretty please?"

Hina's smile turns to an annoyed expression, then she snaps her fingers, and in an instant, Yorihime finds herself hanging upside down with a rope around her ankle as well.

Hina casually says "oi~ Don't be such a cry-baby."

Yorihime starts to cry loudly, which Hina ignores, causing Reisen and Mystia's eyes to glint with rage.

The two women manage to fly up and cut their ropes, Mystia with her sharp nails and Reisen with one of her bullets.

Hina gasps and backs away with a frightful face, then says "whoa. I think it's time I left!"

Meanwhile, at one of the roads of the Bamboo Forest, Mokou, little Keine and little Yuki take a casual stroll to collect flowers, even though Yuki doesn't look too amused.

They all stop on their tracks when they hear a rumble, then Mokou grabs both girls and jumps to the side.

Immediately after, Hina and the RKNS run past them, kicking up a large cloud of dust behind them.

Mokou looks at the scene and asks "what the heck?"

Little Keine looks down the road again and says "ah, look."

Following Hina's tracks are Reisen and Mystia, who look enraged with large, yellow stars for eyes, followed shortly by Nitori, who is giving a piggy-back ride to Yorihime, shouting "WAIT! Please, don't kill her!"

Yorihime shouts "Mystia, I'm alright! Waaah~!"

Back at Eintei's front yard, Wriggle is still trapped, asking herself "what did I even come here for?"

* * *

Back at the Myouren Temple, Kogasa has been put to sweep the entire front yard for scaring the girls.

Although she's smiling, her face is covered in bruises, her head has a large bump, and her arms and legs are full of bandages.

She sighs and says to herself "well, it was a successful scare, but I was to slow on the getaway, wasn't I, Karakasa."

The umbrella simply stares at her with its eye and just blinks once.

Kogasa continues her sweeping, then is suddenly surprised by Byakuren, who stands right behind her and suddenly says "serves you right!"

After yelping, Kogasa places a hand on her chest and turns around.

When she looks at little Byakuren, pouting while looking up with her big, sparkly eyes, that cute bell-like dress, and her little boots, she can't help but feel a certain degree of excitement, then calmly says "y-you know, you are really cute, little girl."

Byakuren crosses her tiny arms around her chest and says "you really are stupid, aren't you. If it had been me, I would have run. But I guess adults aren't that bright."

Kogasa's surprise is evident in her expanded eyes and wriggling mouth as she points at Byakuren with her trembling hand, then says "he-hey! That's not very nice, little girl!"

Byakuren jumps on a conveniently placed table next to them, where Kogasa's own umbrella is also conveniently placed for perfect shading, then crosses her arms and legs as she says "well it's the truth. Heh, I don't know why, but I'm loving being a little girl! I can get away with anything, I get to eat sweets, play all day, and best of all..."

Kogasa stares at little Byakuren as she speaks, and whispers "hey, where did that table come from? And why is Karakasa there?"

Byakuren continues "best of all, I get to stay young for even longer! It's great, I tell you!"

Kogasa sweats and smiles sheepishly, then asks "wow, you're a little monster, aren't you?"

Byakuren simply smiles and casually says "well, you better get to sweeping, or I might get you into trouble again."

Kogasa stares with fear at little Hijiri, asking in a soft tone of voice "eh, but how... and why?"

Byakuren stops and stares back with a wicked smile, then Kogasa yelps and starts sweeping again, hurriedly saying "hai, hai! I'll sweep faster, madam!", and starts sweeping as fast as she can, while Byakuren smiles angelically and moves her legs back and forth while keeping them hanging from the table.

She suddenly stops and says "shit, the nue!"

She jumps off the gable and dusts her skirt, just as Nue, who is now wearing one of Byakuren's dresses, walks out of the temple and says "there you are, Hijiri. Lunch is ready."

Byakuren looks up with her eyes closed and smiling wide, then says "yay, yummy food. Thank you very much!", then runs inside the temple while giggling.

Nue smiles and says "such a little angel. As expected from lady Hijiri."

From the yard, Kogasa keeps looking forward wile sweeping, a gloomy shadow covering half of her eyes as she says to herself "yeah... little angel. So angelic..."

* * *

At the SDM, inside Remilia's room, groans and grunts can be heard from a tiny crack on the slightly-opened door.

Slowly, a person gets closer, and closer to the door, until this person has a perfect view from that tiny crack.

The grunting and groaning is Remilia herself, who stands in front of a mirror while fighting to put on her bra.

She fails to secure the pins on the back and it springs back off, making her grunt "dammit, stupid thing! So damned ANNOYING! I swear, if Patchy doesn't fix this soon, I'm gonna... huh? Who's there?"

The figure takes one step away from the crack on the door the moment Remilia turns around.

Still holding on to her unstrapped bra, she walks to the door, then everything suddenly stops.

Sakuya, the figure on the outside, smirks mischievously as she enters the room, making sure everything stands the same way as when she came in, and stands behind her mistress, then restores time and waits.

Remilia notices the door is slightly open, and quickly closes it, mumbling "I swear, I thought I saw..."

When she turns around, she finds Sakuya with a smile on her face, blood on her nose, and holding her hands and fingers in a groping manner.

Remilia opens her eyes widely in fright and asks "S-Sakuya, what's the matter with-?"

Sakuya walks closer to her mistress with a ominous aura around her, and with a frightening smile on her face, she says "my lady, I will help you with your dilemma. COME HERE!"

Remilia starts to tremble as she takes one step back from the crazed maid, then starts to scream out loud.

There are sounds of struggling, while Sakuya says "come on! Let me help you!"

Remilia shouts "I can do it MYSELF! Let me GO!"

On the top of a cupboard in the room, Reimu looks down on the maid and her mistress with an unamused and disgusted look in her eyes, then says to Meiling, who sits just beside her, "so disgusting. Really, we just had lunch a moment ago too. Eh, whatever, I'll just take the pictures for Aya."

Meiling closes her eyes and smiles as she nods, then just continues watching.

* * *

Moments later, Reimu casually enters the library, where Shinki and Ayalina still hold on to the annoyed Ail and Alice, forcing them to wear a suit and a dress, and where they are all gathered to for up another plan to try and convince Koakuma to let go of Patchouli.

Reimu approaches little Rika and asks "anything yet?"

Rika smiles and says "well, lady Ayalina and lady Shinki refuse to help, Marisa keeps making fun of Ail and Alice, Sanae continues to admire mister Ail's little suit, Shanghai and Hourai keep patting miss Alice's head, miss Cirno and miss Budou are still searching for Koakuma, little Letty wants to play, little miss Kimi doesn't like being in here, and miss Daiyousei says she feels very uncomfortable."

Reimu stares in shock and surprise at Rika and asks "geez, girl, do you even breathe?"

Rika stares back curiously, then Reimu shrugs and says "well, whatever. Remilia and Sakuya are still arguing over the bra, I'll keep my sarashi, thank you, and I can't find Flandre anywhere."

Rika giggles and smiles nervously, then says "er, that... would be my fault, mi... Reimu."

Little Reimu stares back curiously at Rika, who continues "she asked me to make it so she had some clothes like Remilia's, so I synthesized a few of her dresses so they become sun-proof too."

Reimu sigs and raises her hand, making it look like she's going to strike Rika, but instead pats her on her head and says "it's alright. She's no help here anyway. Well, I hope Suika's having better luck at the shrine."

At the Hakurei Shrine, little Mima phases from wall to wall while clenching her eyes shut and giggling, while Suika sits next to the living room's table with Rumia.

She looks toward Mima's current location and calmly says "Mima, take it easy. You might crash."

Mima phases her head from the wall and angrily says "aww, stop spoiling my fun."

She tries to phase to the next wall, but smashes her face against a black plate and falls to the floor.

Suika sighs as she gets up and hurries toward Mima, then places her hands on her waist after stopping in front of the girl and says "see, I told you to be careful."

Mima manages to sit on the ground before she starts to sniffle, then looks up at Suika with teary eyes, then starts to cry while holding her arms up so Suika would pick her up.

Suika gladly picks her up and places the little girl's head on her shoulder, then says "shh, shh, it's alright, calm down. It's just a little bump."

Little Agava snickers while hiding in the shadows of the corridor, unaware that Rumia is standing behind her with glowing red eyes and a serious face.

When she looks back, she gasps, then says "um... It wasn't me."

Rumia bends down to grab Agava and asks "is that so?"

* * *

Back at the SDM's library, Reimu stands on one of Patchouli's desks, saying "...and that's why we CAN'T let this stay as it is, understand!"

Shinki and Ayalina stare at little Reimu, then Ayalina giggles and rubs Reimu on the head, saying "my, you are so darn cute, acting like a grownup like that."

Reimu's cheeks turn pink as she enjoys Ayalina's hand on her head, and when she realizes what she's doing, she gasps and jumps away, then says "dammit, I'm starting to lose it! Look, I REALLY liked this; becoming a child again, being able to play and do the things I wanted to do... But Gensokyo needs me, and this, it's just not natural! We need to return to our normal selves!"

Ail and Alice jump on the desk and stand beside Reimu, then nod, and with a serious expression on his face, Ail says "mom, this is serious. I'm really starting to think like a child again, and it's conflicting with me. I want to go back to normal!"

Shinki looks at Alice and asks "Alice, you too?"

Alice nods and says "I... WE all want our lives to go back to normal, mom."

Before another word is said, a large shadow swoops down and goes back up.

It's Koakuma, who still hold on to Patchouli on her hands, while running away from Budou and Cirno, saying "ha! You two combined can NEVER defeat me!"

Budou and Cirno reach the area, looking tired and winded, then Cirno says "stop moving so much and we'll see about that."

Budou adds "just let go of miss Lady Patchouli-Bookworm already!"

Koakuma laughs and loudly says "NEVER! Ha-ha-ha~"

Letty and Kimi jump on the desk, followed shortly by Rika and Sanae, and after Sanae grabs hold of Ail's arm, Rika asks "what's going on, miss Reimu?"

Little Reimu glares at Rika, but sighs and says "it seems the little grown up devil's being a pain."

Koakuma continues to laugh while skillfully dodging Cirno's and Budou's combined attacks, but after looking down, she stops moving and gets struck hard.

Both Cirno and Budou gasp, thinking they hit Patchouli as well, but their worries subside the moment Koakuma flies down from the smoke with little Patchouli safely in her arms.

Cirno looks at Budou and asks "what do you think she's doing?"

Budou shrugs, then she and Cirno follow Koakuma down.

After landing, Koakuma stares at the kids on the desk, then, as her cheeks start turning redder and redder, she starts to shiver and smile.

She points at Alice and says "s-s-so... cute."

She gets closer and stares at the kids, then squeals with glee and exclaims "oh my GOSH, so CUTE!"

She points at Ail and says "look at HIM with his little suit. He looks like a tiny man! Oh, and he has such a cute little girlfriend!"

Ail blushes, while Sanae tightens her grip around his arm and says "all mine!"

Koakuma stares at Reimu, Rika and Letty, then says "those cute little eyes, those adorable WINGS, and that HAIR!"

She looks at Kimi and says "I... I can't take it. I-I-I'm going to explode!"

There is a faint scream from a little girl from the ceiling, and when they look up, it's little Meiling, who falls right on top of Ail and bounces afterward.

Ail trips Alice after falling down with Sanae, Alice stumbles to Letty and knocks Rika and Reimu as soon as they all fall, then Meiling quietly bounces on Alice's back, then Kimi catches her, just to fall down, leaving Meiling sitting on her belly, giggling with glee while clenching her eyes and waiving her arms in the air.

Koakuma starts to hyperventilate, drops little Patchouli on to the desk, tilts her head back very violently as a spray of blood gushes right out of her nose, pushing her back and making her fall down.

Now Koakuma lies on the ground on her back with a smile on her face, moaning incoherently.

Reimu angrily sits up and asks "who the hell did that?"

Flandre floats above the desks, and waves at Reimu as soon as the little girl looks up.

Reimu sighs and says "well, at least she let go of Patchouli."

Coming out of nowhere, Remilia now stands on the left side of the desk, holding on to little Meiling and little Reimu, while Shinki and Ayalina stand on the right side, Shinki holding on to Alice while Shanghai and Hourai sit on her shoulder, and Ayalina holding on to Ail and Sanae, growling in order to keep anyone away from her and the kids.

Letty starts to sniffle, so Daiyousei quickly grabs hold of her and says "it's alright, I got you."

Now Rika, Kimi and Patchouli are the only ones left standing on the desk.

Rika and Kimi look up with a longing faces, but all hands are already full, so they both look down, Rika whispering "just like before..."

To her surprise, she feels two pair of hands grabbing hold of her, and when she looks up, she's already being held by Sakuya and Budou.

She smiles and blushes, then Sakuya says "every child needs a warm embrace, right."

Budou adds "nobody gets left out while we're here."

Rika smiles warmly at the two women, then looks to the desk, concerned for Kimi, but she finds she's being held by Cirno with her face turning bright red while saying "you-you didn't have to do that."

Cirno simply giggles, then offers her left arm to Patchouli. The little magician keeps an expressionless face as she backs away, then says "please, don't. I've had enough of that already."

After saying that, Marisa jumps from the ceiling, exclaiming excitedly "YAY! Cirno can hold ME, then!"

She looks around, and after spotting Koakuma, she asks "so, what did I miss, ze?"

After that, everyone stares at Koakuma, who lies unconscious on the floor, mumbling with a blank smile "so... many... so... cute!"

* * *

At night, at the filled up dinner table, after enjoying a delicious dinner, Patchouli spreads books and more of her notes for Reimu and the others to see.

She looks at Reimu and says "I see. You understand what I did here after all."

Reimu holds her forehead with her fingers and says "it's hard, but I can see you tried breaking the borders of time."

Patchouli nods and says "the experiment was a failure."

Alice has replaced her dress with her normal clothes, and with an angry expression, she sips on her teacup and says "obviously! Look what you did to us!"

Before Patchouli replies, Reimu jumps on her chair and suppers herself on the table with her arms, then exclaims "hold on just a moment! There's no way you could have done this on your own, Patchouli Knowledge!"

Patchouli sighs and says "darn, even as a child... I'm sorry, Reimu, but I made a pledge of silence... but, since you figured it out, I guess my word is still good."

Reimu closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath, then says out loud "get over here this instant, Yukari Yakumo!"

Reimu tosses a strange purple talisman that stops I mid-air, away from the dinner table, then starts glowing aquamarine.

One of Yukari's gaps is forcefully opened, then a woman says "for crying out loud! And so early in the evening too!"

The first to pop out of the portal, falling on her seat on the dining table, is Ran, whose difference, other than her small stature, is that she now has but a single tail.

Before she can speak, a second girl flies right out of the gap.

It's Yukari, who lands on the ground on her feet, smiling at the others.

She's about the same size as Ran, though a bit taller, and her hair is still long, but instead of four ribbons, she's only wearing two, and she's not wearing her hat either.

She looks at Reimu, smiles, then says "Reimu, what a nice surprise!"

From the gap, a woman says "you've REALLY got some nerve to be picking on us like this!"

The woman jumps out of the portal, wearing a long sleeved, red Chinese outfit with long white sleeves and black slip-on shoes, hiding her hands inside the sleeves, like Ran.

It's Chen, and her hair now reaches her lower back, her chest is the same size as Ran's, her ears look a little larger, and her tails longer.

Reimu, Ail, Patchouli and Alice can also see a strong aura emanating from within her.

Ail looks at the nekomata and asks "Chen, is that you?"

Chen hisses angrily and says "if you make fun of me", she frees her hands from under her sleeves to point at Ail, then says "I'll blast you, right here and now!"

Remilia jumps in front of Chen, letting her magical aura be felt by all in the room, allowing Chen, and even Flandre, to see and feel their difference in power, then calmly says "I will kindly ask you to keep your voice down, and to NOT threaten the children here."

Chen backs away, her hair standing on ends on both her head and tails, then she calms down, bows to Remilia, then says "I'm sorry. I'm just so on edge lately."

Reimu, in a matter-of-factly tone, says "aren't we all."

Patchouli looks around, then asks "hey, has anybody seen Marisa?"

* * *

At the Human Village, there are a few lights, as there is a small festival being held.

Since it's been the children in adult bodies who have been preparing everything, the tables and lights look a bit disorganized, but the celebrations are still being held, regardless.

Mystia, who is wearing a kimono, has Yorihime riding on her shoulders, while Toyohime, stands beside Kaguya and Eirin, who are being closely watched by Tewi and Reisen 2, all wearing kimonos.

Kyo and Luna enjoy some sweets, while Shizuha gleefully plays around with any human that's willing to spend some time with her.

Meanwhile, Medicine and Mokou enjoy a few drinks and eat contently while watching over them, and Minoriko and Su-San simply sit in a quiet corner, simply looking around, with little Keine tries to keep a low profile by staying with them.

Meanwhile, outside the village, Nitori cries "and I almost had her too. How did she run away that time?"

Reisen places a hand on Nitori's shoulder, and with a sheepish smile on her face, she says "c-come on, I already apologized for scaring her away the 3rd time."

Nitori sighs and says "it's not that, miss Reisen. I am so tired, and my friend needs me too. I need to go home."

Reisen sighs and looks to the night sky, then says I'll tell you what... if we can't find her tonight, why don't you leave her to me so you can rest and go home for a while?"

Nitori gasps and excitedly asks "you'd really do that for me?"

Reisen smiles and nods, then Nitori suddenly jumps on her and gives her a hug, making the moon rabbit blush, repeating "thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much for all your help!"

Reisen smiles, pushes Nitori away, then says "now, now, we have a child to find."

Nitori panics and smiles sheepishly, then says "s-sorry. I was just overcome!"

A large grey washtub falls out of a tree and clangs hard on Nitori's head, knocking her out with a silly smile, followed by an echoing giggle and Reisen's sigh.

Back at the SDM's library, ignoring Koakuma, who is still on the floor next to the desks, Marisa flies around on her broom, looking for books on magic, saying "it's not often I get to roam around the mansion so freely. Now, let's see what I can find."

She lands on the top floor and looks up the walls of books. After looking for a while, she spots a thick book, almost as wide as her, with a thick black cover and letters in gold that read "Ancient Arcane Spells of the Sirians".

Marisa's eyes glow as she opens them wide after reading the title.

She trembles as she reaches for the book, but then she notices a colorful book beside it, called "1010 Stories for the Well Behaved".

Obviously a children's book, and Marisa has no interest in that kind of thing, so she reaches for the black book, and suddenly finds herself thinking of the children's book beside it.

Her hand trembles as she whimpers, so the takes a deep breath, clenches her eyes shut, then reaches for the book.

Moments later, Marisa finds herself next to Meiling, sitting on Flandre's lap as Flandre reads the book to them.

Slowly, the little magician feels herself drifting to a deep slumber, and unable to fight it, she falls asleep, right on Flandre's own lap.

The next morning, Marisa stands on the desk with tears in her eyes, then looks out the tiny window on the top, sniffles, then says "I forgot where it is!"

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Scenarios and Spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Ayalina, Budou, Kyo, Luna, Agava, the RKNS (Rabid Karate Night Sparrow) and Kimi were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

JUN 26 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Wow, maybe I was too mean. Nah, I think it's just right... yeah. So, the second culprit has been revealed. Was it a surprise? Maybe. You know, I was thinking, but then the thought escaped me. Still, it's have been fun if I could have added something more for Remilia and Sakuya there... but then, maybe I'd have to raise the rating. Maybe not, since it's all for the sake of laughter. Laughter is good, and I love laughing. Well, now I'm just rambling. Take care and see you next chapter, if the spirits will allow. And they are good, so I'm sure it'll be fine.**


	5. Chapter 5

Morning at the Forest of Magic.

It's a beautiful day with the sun shining bright, the sky with its beautiful blue color, the clouds looking fluffy and almost edible, and a small black smoke cloud rising from the ground.

The source of the smoke is non-other than the antique shop, Kourindou.

From inside the shop, the annoyed voice of a boy says "oy... I told you that you were using too much!"

A woman shouts back "ugh, give it a rest, already! At least I didn't burn anything this time!"

The door to the house and store bursts open, and the rest of the smoke clears out.

From inside comes the little silver-haired boy, Rinnosuke, whom aside from his diminished stature, he now looks even more human.

He coughs as he dusts himself while walking away from his house and store, angrily saying "maybe you didn't, but you're still going to suffocate us!"

From inside, the woman replies "well *cough* maybe next time, you can cook all by yourself, you mongrel!"

Rinnosuke calmly replies "maybe I will", while adjusting his glasses.

From inside, coughing while holding a large pan with soup inside, comes Tokiko, who has grown indeed.

Her plumage is bright and looks silky to the touch, her hair is so long, it reaches down to her waist, and although her chest look quite normal, her hips seem large, and indeed, an updraft reveals a perfect set of legs under her long, black skirt.

After she sets the pan on a small picnic table that conveniently appears out of nowhere, she notices Rinnosuke staring at her legs, and after blushing and giggling, she places her hands on her waist and says "caught you peeping, mister 'I'm-not-interested'. What a little pervert you are."

After nervously adjusting his glasses, he looks away and says "you-you're imagining things. I-I was just in a trance, is all."

Tokiko smiles mischievously and says "a trance indeed. Wait until I tell that witch and that maiden!"

A roar from behind the little boy sends chills down his spine, and put Tokiko in a state of panic.

She manages to control herself after gasping for air, then shout "DUCK, YOU IDIOT!"

Rinnosuke obediently ducks and feels something large and fuzzy swish close to his back.

It's an enormous youkai the size of Rinnosuke's house, and it's ready to strike again.

Tokiko knows she's no match for the giant beast, but her motherly instincts prevent her from running away and leaving little Rinnosuke there, so she charges to attack.

The monster raises its claws to strike again, Tokiko won't make it in time, then all of a sudden, a lightning bolt strikes right between the monster's feet, startling the creature, and giving Tokiko the chance to get Rinnosuke out of there.

The monster chases after Tokiko, but another lightning bolt, this one accompanied by loud thunder, frightens the creature and sends it running away.

After the danger's past and they reach the doorway to the house, Tokiko slowly sets Rinnosuke back on the ground, breathing heavily and asking "th-that was scary. But where did the lightning come from? There's not a rain cloud in sight, so how?"

Three figures jump from a nearby tree, and land one to the left, one to the right, and the third one seems to float in the air in between.

The one in the right is the grown up Sunny Milk, whose hair is just a little longer, so she ties it to a ponytail instead of her usual twin tails, still wear her little bonnet, and has a small chest.

To the left is the grown up Luna Child, who hair looks about the same, sports a more shapely figure than Sunny, and uses her left arm to try and cover her own chest, which is quite normal, yet she seems embarrassed about it.

While she and Sunny stand beside each other, they both extend an arm upward, apparently giving each other a high-five, hanging by their arms is a tiny Star Sapphire, who's pink cheeks, pouting face, and annoyed, unamused expression, only adds to her cuteness, as her hair is exactly as long as she is high, for some strange reason.

Sunny proudly says "ha-ha-ha~ No need to thank us! Just give us some food for saving your lives, and we'll call it EVEN!"

Luna adds "and if you don't, we'll just eat you instead."

Sunny lowers her arm, letting Star fall to the ground, then looks worriedly toward Luna, and says "hey, hey, don't go saying unnecessary things."

Sunny softly punches her own head, then winks and sticks out her tongue and says "sorry, it slipped."

Star Sapphire stays sitting on the ground, crossing her arms and pouting and looking quite unamused, saying "just shut up already!"

Sunny replies "hey, just because you're a little sprite, doesn't mean I won't smack you!"

While the three fairies start to argue, Rinnosuke and Tokiko look at each other, then Tokiko asks "Hey, how did you make that lightning bolt and thunder?"

The three fairies stop arguing, then Sunny smirks mischievously as she says "how indeed."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Patchouli and Meiling pat Marisa's back, as she has cornered herself in order to cry because of the book she can't find again.

Ail looks annoyed and sweaty, as he is being held by Ayalina and Sanae, and with a grunt he says "please... let me go."

Ayalina smiles and squeals, then says "just a little longer."

Sanae adds "you just want to run away."

Ail immediately says "well duh!"

Meanwhile, Alice is hiding as best as she can, fear coursing through her as she hears Shinki's sweet voice, calling "Alice~ Come on out already. It's time for breakfast."

Alice covers her mouth so her breathing doesn't give her away, then calms down after she hears Hourai saying "gramma, maybe she's already at the table."

Shinki gasps and says "oh, that right. Dear me, this mansion is almost as big as my palace. It's very confusing in here, but maybe you guys would want to come live with me. There's more than enough space."

As Shinki's steps can be heard fainting in the distance Hourai can be heard saying "I don't think little mama Alice would want that."

Alice takes a breath of relief, then yelps when she sees Shanghai floating in front of her face, saying "the coast is clear. Come on, I arranged for miss Sakuya to hide you and little mister Ail for breakfast."

Alice nods, and rapidly says "thank you Shanghai!", then rushes away to the basement.

At the large kitchen in the basement, Ail is already waiting for breakfast at the small table there by the time Alice arrives.

After she sits on the chair in front of Ail, she asks "what's going on?"

Ail sighs and says "Budou is learning how to prepare something."

In the kitchen itself, Sakuya, little Rika and Budou work hard to prepare the large quantity of breakfast for all the guests in the mansion.

Nine tiny fairy maids take three dining karts in groups of three each, and slowly push the karts to their destination, Rika walking along side one of the karts.

After they leave, Budou excitedly asks "so, how do we start?"

Sakuya calmly raises her hand to Budou and says "first, why don't we take the plates to Alice and Ail, and then we can start."

Budou blushes and lowers her head a bit, then says "r-right. Sorry about that, heh heh."

Meanwhile, at the dining room, before the fairy maids arrive with the meal, little Reimu has little Yukari in an arm lock, clenching her teeth in rage while asking "why the hell are we still stuck like this, Yakumo?"

Yukari, though smiling, writhes in pain on the ground, trying to use her free hand to pull herself away from Reimu and saying "I really don't know, Reimu! Ow, you are really hurting me~"

Reimu grunts "be thankful I can't rip it off!"

Ran appears standing behind Reimu, and in a strict tone of voice, she says "that's enough! Reimu, lady Yukari isn't entirely at fault here!"

Reimu releases Yukari, then both girls look at Ran while sitting on the ground.

Yukari angrily says "Ran, keep your mouth shut. I told you it's alright."

Ran sighs and says "I can't do that. Reimu, the reason all of this happened is because of me! So if you're going to punish someone..."

Ran lowers her ears and frowns as she finishes saying "you should punish me."

Yukari sighs and says "whether grown up or a cub, you are incorrigible."

Reimu looks at Ran, then says "after breakfast, we are going to discuss this."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the subterranean, a tiny blond girl with blond hair made into a bun, runs around the cave's entrance, giggling while setting up random webs all over.

Little Yamame is having so much fun with her webs, she doesn't notice the tall, green haired woman with her hair made into twin tails standing behind her, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

It's Kisume, who wears a white robe that hides her features well, making her look like a shoeless old hag.

With a sweet, yet strong womanly voice, she clears her throat, getting Yamame's full attention, then says "Yamame! Didn't I tell you to stop doing that already!"

Yamame looks up at the tall figure of Kisume, and frowns as she looks down to the ground with glassy eyes while fiddling with her fingers, then sadly says "I... I'm sorry. I was just having fun."

Kisume angrily points behind her, toward a massive concentration of countless webs, where her new, larger bucket, is stuck on, then says "honestly child, I almost hit my face when I fell!"

Yamame starts to sniffle, then places both arms behind herself while placing the tip of her foot on the ground behind her, swaying it in order to hide her shame.

Kisume sighs, then says "look, just help me clean this mess up, so I can get my bucket back."

Tears hang from the bottom of little Yamame's eyes as she nods at Kisume, then raises her bottom and throws a web to the ceiling, unaware that she stuck it to a lose stone.

Before she pulls herself up, Kisume notices the danger and reaches for Yamame, shouting "wait! You're going to get hurt!"

Kisume grabs Yamame before she pulls herself up too high, and pulls down, releasing the lose stone and causing it to fall toward them.

The stone is not that big, but it can still cause some serious damage, even to youkai like them, so she holds Yamame tight and runs toward her bucket.

The loud boom made by the stone after it falls startles Yamame, making her yelp and release a long string, even with Kisume screaming at her to stop, and wraps Kisume's torso tightly.

After everything settles down, Kisume slowly gets back up, whispering "Yamame... are you alright?"

Yamame sobs and says "y-yes. *sniffle* I'm sorry."

Kisume embraces Yamame and sights, then says "it's alright, already. Stop crying."

After Yamame settles down, Kisume sets her on the ground beside herself, then slowly gets up, unaware that with Yamame's web tied so tightly around her torso, she's revealing her body shape to the few youkai that have come to assist them.

Though she has an ample chest, she has a bit of a tummy, small hips and thin legs, but with her robe lifted from below and dropping from her shoulders, she can't help but have heart-shaped eyes set on her.

She looks at the other youkai and asks "what are you all staring...?"

When she notices she's looking sexy, she screams and kneels down, shouting "no! Look away, you perverts! Someone get me my bucket already!"

* * *

Back at the SDM, in Remilia's room, Sakuya sits on her mistress' bed, while Remilia stands in front of the mirror, comparing a white dress, and a pink dress, while still wearing her sleeping garments.

She turns around to look at Sakuya with a deadly serious expression, making the head maid nervously jump of the bed and stand as straight as possible.

Remilia sighs, then says "relax, I'm not angry about that. Sakuya, this is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and its reputation is at stake. I WILL NOT allow this to happen."

Sakuya bows and asks "how should I handle her, my lady?"

Remilia turns around to compare the dresses some more, then says "she's still scared, but she's still a threat. Make sure to keep both eyes on her, and if she makes a move, make sure she's dealt with! Even her own are not safe around her."

Sakuya raises her head and stares at Remilia with narrow eyes, then asks "she'd really go that far?"

Remilia now wears her extravagant white clothes and places her bracelets on her wrists as she says "she loves them very much, but her body and mentality are in conflict. Sakuya, she's powerful, but not beyond you. Do not fail me, and keep the mansion's reputation where it belongs."

Sakuya bows once more and says "I will not fail you, my lady", then disappears in an instant.

In a corner of the mansion, the grown up Chen sits with her back against a wall, hugging her knees and almost curling into a ball, trembling in place while looking outside the window to her right.

She stops trembling for a moment, then lifts her left hand to look at it.

She starts to tremble again, then angrily asks herself "why now? Why the hell all of this? Ran-sama, this is all your fault!"

* * *

Down at the library, Ran and Yukari are covered in Reimu's charms while she stands in front of them with her gohei in hand, pacing angrily to the left and right, then asks "for the last time... Why did you even try something so stupid? Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to keep my thoughts in check while I'm like this?"

Little Yukari smiles and asks "why did I get punished too?", then opens her fan to cover her mouth and says "why indeed. I was just bored and decided to lend a hand."

Ran, on the other hand, looks depressed, and is struggling with herself as to not think, so she can keep Yukari in the dark as well.

With a smile behind her fan, Yukari looks at Ran and says "Ran, I already know your reasons. Why don't you tell Reimu why, before I speak on your behalf?"

Ran twitches and looks at Yukari with a shocked and frightened expression, then sighs and recovers her composure.

Reimu crosses her arms across her chest and starts tapping her right foot on the floor impatiently, so Ran sighs to summon enough courage, then looks up to Reimu.

She suddenly bows down until she's literally kissing the ground, and with tears pouring out of her eyes, she cries "I'm so sorry! My actions were purely out of selfishness, and anything I say cannot even excuse me."

Reimu backs away in surprise and exclaims "whoa, c-calm down *sniffle* y-your making me want to cry too!"

Ran raises her head, her tears flooding from her eyes down to her cheeks and dropping on the ground.

She crawls straight to Reimu, and while still crying she manages to say "I wanted to go back! I wanted to stop Yukari from making me her shikigami! I was tired, and I didn't think and... and..."

By now, Reimu's trying to fight off her tears, but with Ran crying like that she can't help it and starts to bawl, lowering her arms and her gohei, saying "I.. I... I told you, you were go-go-gonna make me cry~"

At first, Yukari stares at them with disdain, thinking "what babies", but she suddenly starts to feel something strange crawling from her chest, up to her eyes.

Before she knows it, she's sniffling and fighting off the tears, however, she ends up crying with them in the end, bawling right where she sits.

Moments later, Ran sits on Flandre's lap, Yukari is being held by Budou, and Reimu is being held Remilia, all sobbing and sniffling, Reimu saying "s-see! Y-you made me cry *sob* like a little girl *hic*."

Remilia smiles and says "it's alright, Reimu. I don't think any less of you."

Reimu sniffles and rubs her eyes, then says "thank you, Remilia."

Though she's smiling normally, inside, Remilia feels elated at the sight of Reimu sniffling and rubbing her eyes, thinking "dammit-all. She's so cute! Gosh, it's taking all my will not to explode!"

* * *

At the underground city, in the Streets of the Former Hell, a tall, beautiful blonde woman with green eyes, short hair that reaches just below her shoulders, ample chest, and a perfectly well-shaped body, is accompanied by a small girl with long, blonde hair, and a tiny red horn sprouting from her forehead.

As a grownup, Parsee has better control of her powers, as well as causing natural jealousy to the females around her, making her feel stronger than ever as she absorbs all this jealousy.

Little Yuugi doesn't really care if she's small or not, as she carries around a cup of sake with her, though the others question if she's really drinking the stuff.

Yuugi looks up to Parsee, having trouble looking at her face, since her expanded chest is getting in the way of her view.

Regardless, she takes a breath of air and asks "hey, Parsee, is it ok to just leave the bridge unguarded like that?"

Parsee bends her neck a little so she can look at Yuugi with her snobby eyes and self-satisfied smile, then asks "why? Are you... jealous?"

Yuugi looks forward and casually says "as if. I'm just worried. Any kind of creep can just waltz in without you there."

Parsee smiles more naturally and says "well, if that happens, I'll use all my jealousy to beat him, or her, up."

Yuugi lazily replies "whatever makes you happy."

Above the bridge, all the way to the cave's entrance, Kisume is finally in her bucket, sitting right next to the hole that leads down to the underground city, while Yamame plays around with her web in a designated area Kisume prepared for her, covered in rocks and walls of stalagmites.

Giggling, Yamame lands on the ground after somersaulting from one of her webs, then bends down to shoot yet another web, unaware that she's aiming straight at Kisume, threatening to knock her down the hole.

Kisume immediately panics when she notices this, and shouts "wait, stop!", but Yamame is having too much fun and shoots her web, which goes past Kisume's face, and when she pulls on it, she shoots herself straight at Kisume, knocking her, and herself down the hole.

Back at the streets of the city, Yuugi hears the faint screams of Kisume and the cries of Yamame as they fall down the hole.

She tugs on Parsee's skirt, almost ripping it off, then exclaims "to the bridge!"

Parsee angrily pulls her skirt back up and asks "what's the matter with you?", but when she sees the two youkai falling to the jagged bottom of the cave, she immediately flies after Yuugi.

Parsee and Yuugi fly as fast as they can to save the falling youkai, but they are flying as fast as they are falling, so Parse growls and says "I'm so jealous! They are falling too fast for me to reach them!"

Yuugi grabs Parsee by her shirt and says "Save them, princess!", then throws Parsee ahead, making her fly four times faster, giving her a chance to save the falling youkai.

Kisume is now wearing her white kimono, having failed to hide her looks with the robe, and she's trying to use the long sleeves to flap her arms and fly around, forgetting she can fly already and ignoring the fact that the updraft is revealing her skinny legs for all to see.

Yamame is too distraught to fly or try to use her web strings to save herself, crying inconsolably as she falls.

They are mere feet away from crashing on to the jagged ground when Parsee finally reaches Yamame and catches her, saying "got you!", then calmly returns to the bridge.

Kisume continues to fall, and shouts "wait, save me too!"

Parsee's eyes glow bright green as she says "you can fly!"

Kisume suddenly stops falling just before hitting the ground, then says "oh, that's right. I forgot."

She lands safely and decided to go after Parsee and Yamame, but after she takes the first step, a large silver washtub falls right on top of her head, knocking her to the ground, where she writhes in pain as she holds her head.

Meanwhile, Parsee reaches the bridge, holding on to the sobbing Yamame, where Yuugi anxiously awaits for them, and as soon as Parsee places Yamame on the floor, Yuugi asks "what happened to you two?"

Yamame's cheeks are red as she sobs and sniffles, then finally manages to say "I-string-Kisume- fell-and-and... I'm sorry~"

Little Yuugi smiles and pats Yamame on the head, then says "it's alright, kiddo", then takes a big gulp from her sake cup.

Parsee gets a bit surprised and exclaims "hey, kids shouldn't drink sake like that!"

Yuugi finishes her drink, then calmly says "this isn't sake, silly. It's grape juice!"

Parsee looks away, hiding the contempt in her eyes as she whispers to herself "she's a child, yet acts to damned mature... I'm jealous!"

* * *

At the Palace of the Earth Spirits, a tiny two-tailed kitten rushes toward an unknown destination.

Orin arrives to a closed door, and just before she crashes against it, she glows brightly and is suddenly transformed into a little girl with red, lose hair that reaches her back.

She grabs the doorknob with both hands, since it's so high for her to simply reach and twist, and after managing to open the door, a woman says "Rin, I was starting to get worried."

Orin pouts and says "please, call me Orin, Satori-sama!"

Satori stands on the kitchen, preparing to serve lunch, wearing an apron over her clothes.

She's slightly taller, her hair now reaches down to her waist, her skirt has stretched to cover down to her knees, and her womanly figure resembles that of a mother.

Orin sighs and says "well, I'm sorry I'm late. I was trying to move the wheelbarrow but-"

Satori gasps horrorstruck, and like a concerned mother, she exclaims "ORIN! I told you to leave that to me and Koishi!"

Orin frowns and lets her arms hang as she slouches and says "aww, but I want to help!"

Satori sighs and says "you're a very good girl, Orin... though I'd wish you'd stop leaving those dead birds and mice on the door. Still, let us handle the heavy jobs."

Satori places a large red bowl with food on the table, while Orin sits on a chair in front of the bowl with a pout and saying "okay. But I want to help! I can help!"

There is a sudden loud thud on another door on the back of the kitchen, then Satori sighs and says "I forgot to leave it open...", then calmly goes to open the door.

The moment she opens it, a tiny Okuu stands dizzily on the doorway, saying "Uuu, I thought I opened it."

Little Okuu looks exactly the same as before, even with that red eye on her chest, though her stature and body shape is that of a child.

She recovers from her daze and exclaims "ORIN!", then flaps her wings and flies straight on to Orin's head.

The two little girls argue about table manners, while Satori calmly takes another red bowl to the table.

After placing Okuu on the chair next to Orin, she uses her apron to clean off her hands while saying "I see everything went smoothly."

On the doorway stands Petal, with her hair reaching to her shoulders, the white stripe in the middle of her hair looking brighter than usual, her blue plaid overall dress, pink shirt and day-time sky cape matching her size, a well shaped body, powerful-looking legs and large chest, still showing the stone Rika gave her on the center of her chest.

She smiles widely at Satori and says "Everything was okey-day Satori-shama!"

Satori smiles and rubs Petal's head, saying "I really have to teach you to speak properly. Lunch is ready, so please sit at the table."

Petal closes her eyes as she smiles and says "thank you for food for table, Satori-shama!", then happily walks to the table.

Satori promptly gets another red bowl with food and places it on the table in front of Petal, then heads back to the kitchen to serve hers, and Koishi's share.

She looks at the plates and notices she forgot a spoon for herself, and when she turns around to look for it, she yelps and raises her arms and left leg.

Smiling as she stands right behind her is Koishi, who is much taller, has longer hair, and a larger chest than Satori, yet retains her childish face.

She smiles widely and laughs at her sister's reaction, then says "I'm not that ugly yet, am I?"

Satori manages to relax, and sounding annoyed, she says "how I wish you'd stop doing that already!"

Koishi simply continues to smile, so Satori just sighs and says "well, enjoy your lunch. I'll join you shortly."

Koishi suddenly hugs her sister and sounding serious, she says "you know I love you very much, onee-chan", then lets her go, admiring the surprised expression on Satori's face.

Koishi giggles again, grabs her plate, then rushes to the table, to join the others who seem to be waiting patiently for Satori to join them.

Satori stands in the kitchen with a blank expression, so Orin exclaims "Satori-sama, we're waiting for you!"

Satori snaps out of her shock, then smiles at Orin as she says "y-yes. I'm sorry, I'll be there shortly."

As they all enjoy their meal, Okuu having to wear a bib, since she's eating with her hands, unlike the rest, Satori watches them all with a smile on her face and her spoon sunk into her plate as she thinks "I must never forget, no matter what, I am surrounded by family and friends that love me."

She closes her eyes as she takes the first bite, then thinks of her pets, her friends down at the city, and her sister, then thinks "funny how I didn't notice this before, but I am truly blessed. I may not understand why, but I am glad for this incident. It's helped me see so much more that escaped me before. I know I could read their hearts, but I forgot to feel them too... Thank you for this opportunity."

* * *

It's late noon, and down at the library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Patchouli and Ran excitedly call for an immediate meeting.

The dimly lit library is cramped with tiny and large fairy maids, the mansion's little guests, and the mistress of the mansion, her sister, and their servants.

While Remilia holds on to Reimu, the still groggy Flandre holds Meiling, as they make their way to the front.

When they reach Patchouli's desk, Reimu beats Remilia in asking "Patchouli, Ran, what the heck is this all about?"

Ran smiles brightly as she says "we found the way to turn back, Reimu!"

Remilia excitedly asks "what? Tell us, what is it? I'm SICK of having to wear bras!"

Patchouli jumps on her own desk and blinks twice at Remilia, then calmly says "there are 4 cures, actually. We should simply drink grape or cherry juice, but for quicker effect, there is sake or beer. This should turn us all back."

At the same time, all in the room ask "WHAT?", then start to rush all over, Sakuya instructing the fairy maids to get the sake and beer from the reserves, Budou flapping her wings excitedly, repeating "what a WONDERFUL medicine!"

Suddenly, Budou gasps and shouts "WAIT!"

The room is in total silence now as all eyes are set right on the beautiful fruit bat, then she says "earlier today, Sakuya taught me how to make grape sundaes, and we used the excess grapes to make juice."

Sakuya gasps and says "wait, that's right! We drank it all, but nothing happened."

Ran steps up and says "yes, we knew about this, but please listen. There is a reason why it isn't working already."

Reimu smirks and says "let me guess... we ALL have to drink it, or it won't work, right?"

Ran and Patchouli blink as they stare at Reimu, Ran obviously surprised, while Patchouli calmly says "yes, that is correct. As long as there's a single person left out, we will all stay like this."

Before anyone else can speak, Kali's voice echoes all over the library as she says "that's just great to know!"

The already dark library turns even darker as Kali uses her powers to surround everyone with her dark danmaku.

As she laughs, she unleashes her bullets, thinking she's already won, then says "and once you are all one the ground kissing my feet, I'll claim this mansion for myself!"

Unknown to her, and because it's so dark, she can't see that Remilia, Reimu, Rika, Ail, Yukari and Kimi, have all placed barriers and rebounded every single shot back to her.

When she fails to hear the explosions, she focuses her eyes and asks "wait, where's the boom?"

By the time she realizes what happened, she's being blasted by her own bullets, yet she manages to absorb the rest before causing any serious damage to herself.

The room is now well lit, thanks to some extra fireballs from Patchouli, Kali can see that Remilia, Sakuya and Flandre are preparing a counterattack, as well as Reimu and the other kids, though to her, the adults are more of a threat.

She suddenly notices how everyone lowers their guard, then asks "wh-what? What's the matter?"

Unknown to her until it's too late, Cirno flies just above and behind her, crossing her arms and glaring with great rage, saying "you were willing to hurt not just Letty, but all the kids here. I'm going to have to punish you severely."

Kali twitches and curls into a ball as she turns around, then smiles and says "meep..."

* * *

That night, in the eastern outskirts of the Human Village, Reisen hangs upside down under a very tall tree, held by a rope around her ankle, tired of holding her skirt up, letting her black shorts to show.

Her face and whole body are full of bruises, some visible through tears on her clothes, and has a large bandaged bump on her head.

Tears run down to her head and ears as she cries and asks herself "how did I end up like this?"

She reviews her day through her memories, remembering how Hina made her fall down the river, while jumping over small stones, smiling and giggling.

Then remembers how the little baby sparrow tripped her and hog-tied her in a second, then remembers how little Hina blasted her with her small danmaku, successfully making her fall down the waterfall at the tengu's mountain.

Finally, she remembers finding Hina crying just underneath of where she is now, then falling for her trap when trying to reach her to comfort her.

Reisen cries some more as she says to herself "man, she's such a brat, but I can't help it! She's still a child after all."

There is an unsettling ruckus going on close by, to which Reisen says "and now she's making that girl use a sword too."

On the ground, Hina carries Kyo on her hands, giggling while mocking Luna, who is chasing after her with one of her swords, saying in sing-song "he's my pet now!"

Luna angrily swings the heavy blade, spinning uncontrollably in place after swinging it, missing Hina by a mile, then Reisen screams "child, please! You're going to get hurt!"

Luna ignores Reisen, and right after she stops from spinning, she shakes a fist at Hina and shouts "give me back my KYO! He's MINE! Get your own pet!"

Kyo complains "hey! I'm a boy, not someone's pet!"

Both girls scream at the same time "shut up!", accompanied by the little RKNS's angry peeps.

Reisen sighs and says to herself "if I could just get out of this."

Like a miracle, her wish is immediately granted.

A flash of light cuts her rope, and before she hits the ground, Nitori catches her with one of her mechanical arms and gently sets her down.

Momiji appears beside them in an instant, then asks "shall we?"

Nitori smiles confidently and says "let's get her."

Reisen asks "you got a plan?"

Nitori and Momiji look at Reisen, who stands in between them, then smile.

Reisen smiles motherly and says "let's get her."

* * *

Back at the SDM, the hunt of Kali continues.

After losing a leg to Cirno, who froze, then shattered it with a chop, Kali uses any shadow she can find to hide from her pursuers as she waits for her limb to regenerate.

Hiding under the shadow of one of the windows at one of the many corridors of the mansion, Kali waits while Reimu and Remilia leave the area to move.

The moment they turn the corner to the next corridor, Kali jumps out of hiding and flies to the foyer, however, she comes face to face with Chen.

The nekomata looks terrifying, as the hair on her rapidly swaying tails stand on ends, and her enraged eyes seem to be searching for something.

Chen spots Kali the moment she sprouts a new leg, then hisses very violently, growling and swinging her claws around.

Kali backs away in fright, saying "whoa! This cat is mad!"

Chen growls and screams "where is Ran? She's going to PAY for this!"

Kali takes another step back, scoffs, then says "sorry, kitty-cat. I have no idea what you're talking about over there."

Chen hisses again, lowering her upper body, looking even more menacing, scratching the carpet and the floor underneath it with her claws, then shouts "DIE!"

Chen pounces on Kali, who turns herself into shadow in order to protect her body from Chen's insane and brutal claw attacks.

Chen's face twists with rage after realizing she missed, and that's when she notices Ayalina and Ail standing at the end of the corridor behind Kali.

Ail trembles after seeing Chen's state, so Ayalina steps up and says to him "back me up.", to which Ail gulps and nods.

Chen completely forgets Kali, saying "you! You smell like Ran! You MUST be Ran! You must pay!"

Ayalina's hands start to glow green, and as soon as Chen attacks, the summons tall flowers that grow quick enough to strike Chen underneath her belly.

Ayalina blinks, unable to believe the speed in which Chen attacked her, and sounding frightened, she says "Ail, get out of here NOW!"

Chen is already attacking again, cutting a hole on Ayalina's dress and cutting Ail's escape, her face turning beastly as she growls like a wild cat.

Ayalina grabs Ail and uses her body as a shield as soon as Chen pounces again, but nothing happens.

Ayalina peeks to her left and finds Sakuya using one of her knives to stop Chen's claws from striking her face.

She looks back and shouts "get him out of here!"

Ayalina grabs Ail, who shouts "wait, we have to help her!", but he calms down when he sees Flandre arriving right at that moment.

Ayalina and Ail reach the corridor Remilia and Reimu took before, finding Reimu hiding in the corner.

She looks at Ayalina and says "lucky we got here in time!"

Ail gasps and exclaims "that's how she missed us!"

Ayalina asks "what are you talking about?"

Ail explains "that second time she attacked, Remilia rushed by and veered Chen's attack away from us."

Ayalina shakes her head and says "that's not possible. She's not even..."

When they look toward the corridor, there is Remilia, standing just behind Sakuya with a most unpleasant look of anger in her face.

By now, Meiling, Marisa, Letty, Rika and Daiyousei join Reimu, Ail and Ayalina, then they all watch the battle.

* * *

While Sakuya pushes the crazed nekomata away from her face, Flandre readies her rod to attack the moment Sakuya clears out.

Remilia stares at Chen and says "you deliberately attacked a child in my mansion, even after the warning I gave you. There will be no mercy for you!"

Chen hisses and shouts "this doesn't concern you, vampire! Ran must pay! She did this to me!"

Ran suddenly appears on the corridor right behind Chen, and unwisely shouts "CHEN! What are you doing? Stop this!"

When Chen sees her target, her magical aura strengthens, then she grabs Sakuya and lifts her above her head, quickly throwing her straight at Flandre.

Remilia shouts "Flan, catch her!", then rushes straight at Chen, who sets her sights straight at the confused kitsune.

Even with her newfound powers, Remilia can't match the insane speed Chen is capable of reaching at the time.

Ran asks "Chen, what's the matter?", clenches her eyes shut, then the sound of claws ripping clothes echoes all over the corridors.

Everyone gulps with fright, while Ran slowly opens her eyes and smiles at Chen with a confused expression in her face, whispering "Chen? What... what happened?"

All Ran can see is the hatred in Chen's eyes, even after Chen suddenly flies toward the ceiling, then falls back down to the floor, just to flip back up on all fours.

Right below Ran is Meiling, who somehow managed to get in between Ran and Chen, and kicked Chen away from her target, however, she's been scratched on her ribs by the nekomata.

As she sits up, she notices her little clothes have been ripped, and the left side of her ribs have three scratches on them, and although they are not deep, the tiny gate guard starts to hyperventilate, her eyes fill with tears, then she suddenly starts to cry as soon as she notices a bit of blood trickles down her skin.

Remilia, Sakuya and Flandre's eyes all start glowing scarlet, and while Sakuya and Flandre show their fury, Remilia keeps a calm face as she grabs a spell card from under her capelet, and slowly approaches Chen.

Before anything, in a strict tone, Remilia says "Sakuya, take Meiling and treat her! Flandre, don't let her touch another child. You blast her if you have to!"

Sakuya's and Flandre's eyes continue to glow scarlet as they says "right" at the same time.

Chen continues to glare at Ran and tries to go after her again, but a barrier from Reimu keeps her from reaching.

Meanwhile, Sakuya grabs the crying Meiling, while Daiyousei grabs Ran, who is still frozen in shock and disbelief, and Flandre positions herself right in front of the group of children.

Chen snarls at Remilia, moving around on all fours like a while animal, then a spell card flies from her vest and floats above her head, and says "you will pay too! Oni Sign, Blue Oni Red Oni!"

Before Chen's spell can even activate, Remilia shouts "Scarlet Devil, Scarlet Devil!", a spell that's normally stationary, Remilia proves her strength by moving toward Chen while her spell is active.

Chen screams as the scarlet flames surround her body and continue to burn her, the pain getting more intense the longer she's engulfed in those flames.

Remilia approaches Chen, the flames dancing around the vampire as she reaches for the nekomata, grabs her by her shirt, and threateningly says "you crossed a very thin and dangerous line."

Reimu's voice manages to penetrate the flames, saying "Remilia, remember you promise!"

Remilia smiles as she stares at Chen, who shows how agonizing the pain is through her slowly dying face, and says "you are lucky she was here", and just like that, the flames disappear, Chen falls unconscious on the ground, and Remilia silently lands next to her.

When everything is over, Remilia looks at Reimu, smiles, and flips her thumb up at the little maiden.

After Reimu sighs with relief, Ayalina asks "h-hey! Where are Ail and Letty? And that Kali girl?"

Marisa looks around, scratches her head, then says "they were just here a moment ago, ze.", then they all notice an open window, Flandre angrily saying "that girl is really getting on my nerves."

* * *

Outside the mansion, Kali has Ail wrapped around her left arm, and Letty on her right, both struggling to break free as she says "you sorry lot are going to be my insurance from now on. As long as I have you two, they won't touch-"

Kali stops speaking and suddenly Ail and Letty manage to break free from her grip, then watch as she falls down to the unforgiving ground on her head.

Ail asks "Letty, you alright?"

Letty nods and asks "what happened?"

Another pair of arms wrap themselves around the kids' necks, these ones more gentle than Kali's.

It's Cirno, and with a smile on her face she hugs the two children and says "I got you, so don't you worry."

When Letty and Ail realize it's Cirno, they stop struggling and smile, then return her hug as the fear they had felt just moments ago seems to melt away with her smile.

As they float back down, Cirno says "let's give miss Kali a little something to warm her up."

Cirno lands right next to Kali, then sets the children on the ground, where they get a better view of the ice patch on Kali's back.

Kali shivers and stutters as she says "y-y-y-y-y-you b-b-b-b-b-"

Cirno interrupts her, saying "ah-ah-ah-ah! Not in the presence of children. Now, bottoms up, miss shadow."

Cirno reveals a cold bottle of Sake from under her dress, pops its top open, then forces it into Kali's mouth, making her drink its content with a content and victorious smile on her face.

Later, at the mansion, the children all drink their grape and cherry juice, while the adults, including Shinki and Ayalina, all drink sake.

Sanae tries to force Ail to drink from her cup, but Ail gets nervous and starts to stutter, which to her seems too cute, so she enjoys it a little longer before finally drinking her juice.

Shanghai and Hourai seem to be drunk from the sake, but considering the tiny cups are quite large to them, it's understandable.

Rika smiles at Reimu after drinking her cherry juice, then says "for our health, miss Reimu."

Reimu drinks her cherry juice and thinks "she still calls me 'miss'. This girl."

Daiyousei's cheeks are bright red, and with a wriggly smile, she approaches Cirno and says "h-hey Cirno. This stuff is good, heh-heh. Eh? Cirno?"

Cirno stands in front of a window, staring into her sake cup while in deep thought.

When she realizes Daiyousei is leaning on her shoulder, she waves her hand in front of her own nose and says "fuu, Dai-chan, you reek of sake!"

Daiyousei asks "aren't you going to drink, Cirno-chan?"

Cirno gets a bit nervous and can't find words to say, so she simply pushes the cup on to her lips on an impulse and drinks its content.

After gasping for air, she smiles and says "see? I drank it. No problem."

Daiyousei smiles and says "so glad. Once we spread the word, we can all go back to normal."

Cirno looks out the window and smiles, then softly says "yeah... Normal."

* * *

Down at the Hakurei Shrine, Suika, who wears Reimu's shrine maiden clothes at the time, holds a cup of sake on her hand, then gently knocks it against another cup, saying "cheers" along with Rumia.

After drinking, Suika sighs and says "it's been days... and it's too quiet. I wonder if something happened."

Rumia drinks from her cup and smiles, then says "you're just worrying too much."

Suika closes her eyes, smiles, and chuckles as she says "yeah, perhaps you're right."

She looks at the night sky and says "geez, it was about time those two fell asleep. I almost sobered up."

Rumia smiles and asks "is that so~?"

Just like that, there is a thunderous boom that makes Suika and Rumia yelp, and causes Mima to wake up and start crying.

Suika looks toward the shrine's open entrance and exclaims "what the hell?"

At the door is Tenshi Hinanai, who has grown tall, has long hair that reaches below her waist, has amazing looking legs she's proudly displaying with an updraft, and has a very small chest.

She looks at Suika and loudly says "hi, everybody!"

Beside her is the tiny Iku, who aside from being a tiny little girl, still has an air of mystery about her.

Suika rushes to Tenshi, grabs her by her shirt, violently shakes her, then says "you realize you just woke up the children!"

After letting her go, Tenshi manages to compose herself, laugh sheepishly, then says "heh, erm, sorry about that, but it's been days, and we're getting tired of this incident, so I came to see if-"

A large silver washtub falls right on top of Tenshi's head, falling so hard, the clanging sound makes the whole floor vibrate.

Suika looks worriedly toward the celestial, who stands in place with a smile, and before asking if she's alright, Tenshi drops to the ground as stiff as a board.

Iku sighs after seeing Tenshi fall, so she twirls and points her finger to the air, holding on to her hip with her right hand.

Rumia holds Mima, helping her drink some sake, along with Agava, who sits beside them, and looks at Iku as she says "Ah, I see. So it is."

Suika turns around, panics at the sight, thenk shouts "stop giving sake to the children!"

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Ayalina, Budou, Agava, Kyo, Luna, the RKNS (Rabid Karate Night Sparrow), Kimi and Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

JUN 29 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hello everybody. Hmm, rather amazed I finished this chapter so quickly. I REALLY got into it too. You know, the battle with Chen was supposed to be stopped by Suika, however after writing it, it seemed out of place, so I had Remilia restore the mansion's reputation by her own hand. It came out better this way. We're almost done here. Now, we need to spread the word. Sake and beer makes the spell wear off faster, which explains why Shikieiki (read chapter 3's first paragraph) returned to normal so quickly.**

**Hmm... that sweet part with Satori... I think that even though she CAN see into her family and friends' hearts, I really think she sometimes forgets to feel too. Good thing Koishi's there. Well, anyway, I think it was unfair that Parsee and Yuugi got so little show-time in this chapter, but then it would have been too long. I think I'll have more fun with them. Anyway, hope you are enjoying this story. Until next time, take care, and see you next chapter if the spirits will allow.**


	6. Chapter 6

It's an hour past midnight at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The grown up Chen lies on a bed in one of the darkest, smallest, and most dirty of all the guest rooms, showing the anger felt by Remilia towards the nekomata.

Her face has returned to its beautiful and natural state and seems everything is back to normal.

On the floor next to the tall bed is Ran, who regardless of what happened before, struggles to climb the bed to be with Chen.

She's finally reaching the top, raising her left leg over the edge of the mattress, but she slips and almost falls, if it isn't for a hand that grabs her and gives her the needed support to climb back up.

After managing to climb up, Ran can hear the soft and weakened voice of Chen, asking "why didn't you fly... Ran-sama?"

Ran unconsciously replies "I forgot... oh, Chen."

Ran realizes Chen is awake, so she fearlessly gets closer to her face and after lowering her own ears, she says "sorry I woke you."

Chen smiles and softly pats Ran on the head, then says "funny... I'm comforting... Ran-sama... just like she did with me."

Ran grabs hold of Chen's arm and presses it against her own cheek, rubbing her face against it, then Chen says "I'm sorry I did that, Ran-sama."

Ran closes her eyes and thinks for a moment.

She remembers contacting Patchouli behind Yukari's back, tricking Yukari into thinking it was for her best interest to help, though hiding her thoughts didn't work against her master, then remembers herself sitting between two bushes, thinking about what she is doing, while Yukari and Patchouli activate the spell.

When she comes back from her thoughts, her cheeks are drenched with tears, and without waiting another second, she says "no, Chen! I'm the one who should be sorry."

Chen slowly lifts her head to look at Ran, and noticing this, the little kitsune quickly gets closer to Chen's face and says "I was so selfish. I was so wrapped up in my own selfishness, and forgot about you, and look what I caused."

Chen stares silently, feeling as though she could fall asleep at any moment, yet she fights this and waits for Ran to speak again.

Ran rubs her eyes, sobbing as she dries up her tears with her sleeves, then sniffles and says "because of me your powers are out of control. Your mind can't match all that power and it makes you go berserk."

Chen stares at Ran for a moment, then smiles with a long sigh, then says "I know. I tried to act like a grown up, but I just don't know how."

She looks into Ran's sad eyes and asks "but why am I so calm now? Even feeling this weak and tired I should still be a little stressed. I know this because even when sleeping, I could feel myself getting angrier all the time."

Ran sighs and says "Reimu placed a charm on your vest that should keep your powers in check. But don't you worry. Reimu and the others found the cure. Once everyone is ready, we will all go back to normal."

Chen smiles, then yawns and asks "Ran-sama? Can we go home while we wait?"

Ran gets herself under the sheets in order to sleep next to Chen, but before closing her eyes she says "I must apologize to Chen again. We'll have to stay with miss Reimu so she can keep an eye on us. With you like this and Yukari and I turned into kids, I don't think we would last long on our own."

Chen smiles as she closes her eyes and wraps Ran around her right arm, then says "it's alright, Ran-sama. We'll just go home later."

Immediately after finishing her sentence, Chen falls asleep, and Ran looks at her face as she thinks "it was just terrible of me to forget about you, Chen; the way I did. I'll have to make it up to you, somehow."

Ran slowly closes her eyes, then slowly falls asleep with Chen, who's purring softly beside her.

* * *

Morning at Hakugyokurou.

Inside the ghostly shrine, a woman calls "Yuyuko-sama, breakfast is ready! ...Yuyuko~"

Walking down the porch toward another building that composes the shrine is a tall woman with long silver hair that reaches her lower back, a comfortable-looking green skirt, and a green vest over a short-sleeved white shirt.

Youmu, as expected due to her constant training, looks beautiful, with a well shaped body and powerful-looking arms and legs, and a normal sized chest that complements her shape quite well.

She opens the sliding door to a larger building, saying "Yuyuko-sama, I'm coming in."

Inside, in the very center of the room, the little Yuyuko, whose hair looks just about the same, though her eyes look more alive and her skin has a bit more color, leans on the ground, moving left and right in a circle around something, using her arms and legs to move like a spider of sort.

Youmu approaches the little Yuyuko with great curiosity, wondering what Yuyuko is so fixated on, only to find out it's a piece of blue string that sways around every time a little wind passes by.

Even though Youmu is so close, Yuyuko doesn't seem to notice her yet, so Youmu decides to just watch in silence.

Yuyuko moves like a spider around the string, first to the left, then to the right, then goes around in a circle and stops on the same spot Youmu found her on when she first entered the room.

Yuyuko starts swaying her bottom around as she lowers her head, readying herself to pounce like a cat, then jumps amazingly high, only to land right on top of the string, which is followed by a loud yelp, and a little girl angrily saying "dammit, princess! That really hurt!"

Yuyuko giggles and says "I told you to stop."

Youmu places her face right next to little Yuyuko, then asks "Yuyuko-sama, who's under there?"

Yuyuko's body twitches, then she jumps in the air while screaming "WAH~ Youmu! Youmu, there's a monster in my room, and it wants to eat me~"

Youmu stares curiously at the frightened Yuyuko, who has taken refuge under the sheets on her bed, then Youmu giggles and calmly says "I already took care of it, so you can come out now and tell me who's under the floor."

While Yuyuko trembles and slowly pushes her sheets away, Youmu grabs the string and pulls it, revealing a secret door on the floor, where little Merlin Prismriver is hiding under.

Her wavy, light-blue hair is a little shorter, and her face looks more lively than usual.

She looks at Youmu as she dangles by her hat, smiles sheepishly, then starts to fiddle with her fingers as she says "um, I didn't touch your daughter, ma'am."

Youmu gasps, and as the ghostly trumpet flies toward the tiny poltergeist, she exclaims "wait, what kind of things are you children saying!"

Yuyuko calmly approaches Youmu and Merlin, and says "Youmu, we may look like children, but do remember our age."

Youmu sighs and says "there are limits, you know. Well, whatever. Breakfast is ready."

There is a mysterious trail of dust behind Yuyuko that seems to lead to the dining room while Yuyuko stands right there, staring straight at Youmu and Merlin.

Youmu stares back at Yuyuko and asks "Yuyuko, are you alright?"

Merlin adds "maybe she's in shock."

Youmu places her hand on Yuyuko's head, only to find out it goes right through, then Yuyuko starts to disappear.

With great amazement, both Youmu and Merlin says "AN AFTER-IMAGE!"

In the dining room, which is actually the living room, Yuyuko immediately recognizes her spot on the table, where there are extra servings of food.

As she rushes in to devour her meal, the tiny Lunasa, whose only difference is her stature, says "whoa, take it easy, miss Yuyuko. You're going to get sick."

Next to Lunasa is Lyrica, who has grown up, unlike her two sisters, and her hair is longer, reaching her mid-back, has decent hips and legs, and a small chest.

She looks to Lunasa and says "better not even try is, sis."

From the door, Youmu says "yeah. Last time I tried, I almost lost an arm... if it wasn't for my ghost half."

Lunasa exclaims "miss Youmu, Merlin. Where have you been?"

Youmu and Merlin look at each other, and with a smile on her face, Merlin says "playing!"

* * *

After breakfast at the Hakurei Shrine, Chen kneels on the floor with Rika on her lap, rubbing the little shrine maid's head as she slowly falls asleep.

Ran notices this and approaches Chen, then asks "Chen, h-how are you feeling?"

Chen smiles and softly says "much better. And I had forgotten how nice it can be in here."

Ran's eyes hide in shadow as she smiles in a most disturbing manner, then whispers "heh, heh, yeah... nice."

Chen looks at Ran with curiosity, and that's when Ran notices Chen's vest is on the ground right next to her.

Ran exclaims "whoa! Chen! How did you take that off?"

Chen follows Ran's sight to her vest, then Rika answers "well, it was so hot I thought she was being suffocated, so I took it off her."

Ran exclaims "bu-bu-but that's where the charm was!"

Chen softly says "oh that's right. But really, I don't understand why, but I feel so relaxed. Like there's not a care in the world."

Ran notices how Chen continues to rub Rika's head, and feeling great jealousy toward Rika, she turns around while glaring at the ground and thinking "I am being punished! Yes, that's what this is! She wanted to kill me, so we had to put that charm on her, but then this maid takes it off and KEEPS her calm! It's not fair! Okay, okay, calm down, Ran. This is just temporary, I'm sure! Once your mistake is all fixed up, Chen's going to come back to me!"

Ran turns around once again, smiling in a most disturbing manner toward Rika and Chen, but managing to remain calm as she asks "and where is everyone again?"

Rika, in a dreamy tone, says "they are all spreading around and telling everyone about the cure for this spell. They should be back in... eh?"

Rika suddenly finds herself sitting on the ground, while Ran has taken her place on Chen's lap.

Rika smiles at them as she gets up, then Chen looks at Ran with anger and asks "what do you think you are doing?"

When Chen looks at Rika, she notices the escaped tears from the very edges of her eyes, while Rika thinks "oh no, I'm going to cry. No, Rika, they belong together. You were just borrowing Chen for a bit. But... but... It felt so nice."

Chen's anger slowly rises, while Rika fights with her desire to cry, and Ran, though feeling awkward, thinks is in her rightful place.

* * *

Back at Hakugyokurou, after cleaning the dishes from breakfast, Youmu goes out back to one of the most secluded gardens in order to practice her sword skills.

She stands with both blades unsheathed as she stares straight toward a large rock with many cut marks on it in front of her, bending her torso just slightly while pointing her long blade toward it, and her short blade away.

Very suddenly, she's at the other side of the rock and sheathing both swords with a satisfied smile, while her after image slowly rushes toward it.

Before the after image reaches the rock, it becomes six separate horizontal pieces cut to perfection, then her after image shows as she spins around like a dance three times, around where the rock was, while the real Youmu looks at her ghost half and says "this is the best, isn't it! Now that my body has grown, my mind and my senses are sharper than ever. I could rival master Youki now!"

There are various claps coming from the right, and when Youmu glances over, Lyrica, little Lunasa, little Merlin and little Yuyuko are sitting close by, applauding Youmu's display.

Normally, the half human would blush and try to run away in embarrassment, but now she smiles confidently, bows, and gives thanks to her audience.

She approaches the group and says "th-thanks. Been aiming to do that for years!"

Lyrica smiles and says "that's the spirit! Keep aiming high, Youmu."

Lunasa scoffs and says "looks who's talking."

Merlin adds "yeah. Youmu, don't listen to her! She's the one that said she'd bloom to be a 'gorgeous' woman some day. Now look at her. Pretty flat, right?"

Lyrica grabs her sisters by their necks and starts shaking them in the air while squeezing the air out of them, angrily asking "who the hell asked you, you little imps?"

Youmu lightly taps the back of Lyrica's head with her sword hilt, angrily saying "don't pick on the kids."

Yuyuko is somehow sitting on Youmu's shoulders now, saying "you listen to Youmu. She knows about these kind of things."

Surprised, yet sounding normal, Youmu says "yes, I've been taking care of a very childish princess all my life", then whispers "and how did you get up there?"

Yuyuko pats Youmu's head and sounding as whimsical as ever, she say "now, now, Youmu~ You have to be careful of what you say~"

Youmu sighs and prepares herself to speak, but the familiar sound of Yukari ripping a tear in the borders of space catches her ears, then says "ah, it seems Yukari came to visit."

Yuyuko smiles and says "wow, Youmu. You heard that all the way over here. Remind me to give you a prize later."

Youmu looks up at Yuyuko with her eyes, wondering if she's just been insulted, or complimented, while Yuyuko just smiles at her.

* * *

Moments later, at the eastern outskirts of the Human Village, Sara, who's only change is longer hair, walks beside little Luize, whose hair is so short, she almost looks like a boy, if it wasn't for the bushiness of her hair, her white dress and her hat.

As they walk through bushes, Luize comments "you know, I think we've been searching the wrong places. You know she likes it where there's victims around."

Sara sighs and says "look, you may be right, but it wouldn't be prudent if we just skipped over a few places, and just 'cuz of a hunch."

Luize sighs as she looks at Sara with her narrowed eyes and says "yeah, you're right. But I'm starting to get tired. This little body doesn't have as much stamina."

Without saying a word, Sara grabs Luize and sits her on her back, saying "this way, you can rest AND have a better view."

Luize giggles and nods, then says "ah, I see something up ahead. A clearing."

Sara sighs and says "at last. We can fly and get our bearings."

The moment they enter the clearing, and their eyes adjust to the sudden change of lighting, they realize they are surrounded by many bodies that lie on the ground.

Both girls freeze in a state of shock, and sounding nervous, Luize asks "o-o-oi... S-Sara? A-are they... dead?"

Sara shivers in place, then says "th-that's a dangerous thing to ask. Hey! Y-you guys! G-get a hold of yourselves."

To their left, Reisen struggles to get back up on her feet, saying "eh-he-heh. It took us all nigh... but we got her."

Further ahead is little Kyo, being embraced by little Luna, who has a triumphant smile on her face as she whispers "he's all mine, heh-heh~"

To their left is Momiji, who lies on her stomach, and as she struggles to get back up, she says "hau~ It's too early to get up."

In front of them all is Nitori, who is sitting with her back against a tree with a wide smile on her face, holding a large glass container with a golden base, and sleeping inside are Hina and the little Rabid Karate Night Sparrow.

Nitori slowly lifts her smiling face, then says "she almost escaped... but we got her."

Both Sara and Luize sigh with great relief, then Sara says "s-see? Nothing to worry about. J-just a bunch of weirdoes."

From behind them, a little boy causally says "wow, you can say that again."

Sara and Luize scream as if their lives are in danger, Sara jumping up high and landing on her seat on the ground, while Luize does her best to keep from falling from Sara's shoulders.

When they get a better look, they realize it's little Ail, little Sanae, and Budou, all peeking their heads from inside one of Ail's gaps.

Sara breathes rapidly and with rage as she gets up, then she and Luize shout at the same time "don't do that, you idiot!"

Sara finishes, by saying "you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Budou chuckles as Ail says "geez, sorry. Anyway, I am here to deliver good news. We have found the cure for this spell. All you have to do, is drink either grape or cherry juice, or sake or beer."

Sanae waves her arms in the air as she says "that should cure us ALL, but you ALL have to drink!"

Hina walks right in front of Ail and asks "is that all?"

Ail nods and hands Hina, and the RKNS on her shoulder, a cup with juice each.

Nitori, Reisen and Momiji all look toward Hina with desperate and frightened eyes, then Nitori angrily asks "HOW THE HELL YOU GET OUT OF HERE?"

Momiji exclaims "we're doomed!"

Reisen giggles and says "oh my... this is not gonna end well."

To their surprise, Hina and the little sparrow drink their juice without hesitation, then look back at their even more surprised faces, then Hina says "it's been fun messing with ya, but I want to go back to normal. Besides, my job is collecting misfortunes, not causing them."

She turns around and whispers at the RKNS "it was still fun", to which the RKNS peeps once.

Suddenly, and very mysteriously, everyone is holding a cup of either sake, or juice, and as if mentally linked, they all drink at the same time, Luna saying "I can't WAIT for my Kyo to grow again!"

Sara and Luize get closer to Ail and Sara asks "hey, would you guys happen to know where Yuki is?"

Ail rests his arms on the edges of his gap and casually replies "Yuki? She's in the village. I hear she's the bomb."

Luize grabs Sara's head and says "see, I told you!"

Before anybody says another word, there is a loud chomp, then Budou suddenly screams and flaps her wings very violently, knocking Ail and Sanae right out of the gap along with herself.

Luize shouts "look, it's Yuki!"

Little Yuki is biting down on Budou's ankle with a wicked smile, while Budou desperately screams and tries to run away from the threat, to no avail.

Sanae looks up, then says "I am so going to hunt that girl when I get big again."

Sara and Luize stare at little Sanae with frightful faces as an ominous aura escapes the tiny wind goddess.

* * *

Back at Hakugyokurou, lunch is already being served by Youmu and Lyrica, while Reimu, Remilia and Yukari prepare to explain.

Yuyuko devours her meal, just like during breakfast, while everyone else eats a normal portion, and quite normally too.

Reimu takes a bite off her meal with her spoon, then gulps and says "so, in order to return to normal, everyone who has been affected by this spell HAS to drink one of the four drinks we mentioned before."

Remilia, sounding a bit desperate, yet keeping a cool and collected look on her face, says "and EVERYONE has to drink, or NOBODY returns to normal. I for one am sick of being like this!"

Yukari stares at Remilia's chest, then says "she is right. Things must be set to their rightful place!"

Remilia notices Yukari's stare and asks "and what are you looking at?", while Yuyuko giggles and says "then, let's all have sake~ Youmu, since you're weak against sake, I'll forgive you and let you drink the cherry juice."

Youmu's eyes are cast in shadow as she looks toward the shrine's exit, and in an angry and defiant tone, she says "no."

Everybody around the table stops eating and stare at Youmu with shock and surprise, including Yuyuko, who concernedly asks "Youmu, what's the matter with you?"

Youmu gets up on her feet and defiantly says "I've never been this close to master Youki's level! I am NOT going to give it up just like that!"

Sounding a little more angry, yet still concerned, Yuyuko says "Youmu! What's come over you? I will not repeat myself. Please, do as you are told. Do not insult me in front of our guests."

Youmu glares at little Yuyuko, then suddenly bows her head low in order to hide her teary eyes as she says in a cracked voice "I am sorry, lady Yuyuko. You are right. You are still the princess of the Netherworld and my... mistress. Please forgive my insolence."

She straightens up and looks away as fast as she can, then says "please wait while I bring the drinks", then storms away.

Yuyuko sighs, and while looking at Reimu, she says "I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over her. I apologize in her stead."

Reimu calmly says "she's not the only one who's been affected by the change, Yuyuko."

Remilia fans herself with her hand and says "there's nothing to apologize for", while thinking "heh, such 'loyalty'. Sakuya would never do that to me, especially if there are guests present."

Outside in the storage house, Youmu reaches a wooden display where many sake bottles are, some of the slots already empty.

She reaches for one of the bottles, but suddenly takes her hand away and turns it into a tight fist, making her own hand turn even more white from the pressure.

She lets her tears of rage escape as she angrily shouts "why the hell? Why the hell did they come here? They should have stayed away! And now, of all possible moments, right when I have reached so high! WHY?"

Yukari's voice echoes all over the room as she giggles playfully, then says "my, and this crybaby claims to have reached Youki's level? I wasn't aware that Youki was such a selfish little crybaby."

Youmu gasps with surprise and swipes the tears from her eyes, then says "Yu... Yukari! I was... I mean... Um, the thing..."

Yukari giggles as she reveals herself floating around while inside her gap, then says "sweetie, are you sure this is what you want? I mean, sure you are stronger, but what would Youki say if he saw how selfish you are. *gasp* And what would he think of you after that little outburst toward Yuyuko? Do you think he'll like it?"

Youmu sighs and lowers her head, trying her best to hide her sadness and shame, then says "it's alright. I'll follow yours, and lady Yuyuko's orders."

Yukari wraps her arms around Youmu's head and forces her to look into her eyes, then says "know that I am not forcing you to do anything, but reminding you how far you truly are from your master's level. Now I ask you, are you truly ready? Are you sure it's best to take the short route? Think about it, alright."

With that, Yukari giggles and enters her gap, swirling around and squealing with glee as she makes it look as though she's being flushed down a toilet, then disappears along with her gap, while, Youmu thinks about Yukari's words thoroughly, looking around the storage house with a lost expression in her face.

Back at the dining room, Yuyuko is about to stand up, saying "I'm going to go get her", but Yukari signals her to stay down, then says "she's coming. Don't worry."

Just after saying that, Youmu enters the room with a bottle of sake and says "forgive me. I had trouble picking a good bottle. I hope you all like this selection."

Yuyuko stares at Youmu's face, then smiles and asks "you didn't bring the cherry juice?"

Youmu smiles nervously toward Yuyuko, then says "if Yuyuko doesn't mind, I'd like to drink sake with her."

Yuyuko's smile brightens as she stares at Youmu's reprimanded smile, then says "I will gladly accept."

Youmu lets out a small giggle, then enters the room to serve the sake, when suddenly Remilia shouts "hey, kids shouldn't drink sake!", then Yuyuko playfully replies "I can't hear you~"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Ran stands by the shrine's doorway with a small bandage on the back of her head, staring with contempt toward Rika, who sits on Chen's lap, making Chen giggle, and Chen making Rika giggle as well.

Ran grips the doorway's border so hard, it cracks under her hand.

Right behind Ran, smiling wickedly as her eyes glow green, is Parsee.

She's both absorbing little Ran's jealousy, and making it stronger, whispering into her ear "yes, yes, that's it. She's in your spot, isn't she? U-fu-fu-fu~, it's only natural. She's in YOUR spot, and you want it back. So what are you going to do about it?"

Ran's eyes glint as the raises her fist in front of her own face, then says "I'm going to claim what's mine!"

Parsee watches with malice in her smile as the little kitsune storms toward her target.

Beside Parsee, little Yuugi watches unamused and says "you really like messing with others, don't you?"

Parsee chuckles and says "I live for it."

Ran skids in front of Rika and Chen, raises her fist, takes a deep breath, then Rika says "miss Ran, we were just talking about you."

Chen quickly adds "please, join us, Ran-sama", while offering her free thigh.

Ran stares at them in surprise for a short while, then her eyes water and she starts to sob.

Surprised, Chen grabs Ran and places her on her thigh, then pats her head, while Rika reaches for Ran's head, pats it, then says "there, there. It's alright, little miss Ran."

Ran stares at Rika for a moment, and just like that she feels relaxed and at peace.

Rika pushes Ran's head on to her own lap and start to rub her head, saying "see, I'm not so bad, aren't I?"

Ran smiles and simply drifts to a state of bliss.

Outside, Parsee bites down on her thumb and says "dammit, how anti-climactic. Geez, I wish I could lie on a lap like that."

Yuugi smirks while looking away and whispers "look who's jealous now, heh-heh."

After a while, Yuugi realizes everything is too quiet, and when she turns around, she finds Parsee staring back into Tenshi's eyes.

The celestial continues to stare for a moment, then suddenly asks "why do you have such an amazing body?"

Parsee smirks and tucks in her stomach, expanding her chest even more, then says "it's not my fault you are lacking vitamins, girl."

Tenshi backs away in a rage and shouts "why you green eyed, hot blond with such an awesome body, who the HELL do you think you are?"

Iku stands next to Yuugi, and sighs after Tenshi picks all the wrong words to try and insult Parsee, to which Yuugi smiles and says "I agree. This is gonna go nowhere and fast."

Iku smiles at Yuugi, then excitedly twirls in place, stops while pointing her finger upward, and a lightning bolt strikes both Parsee and Tenshi, knocking them both down to the ground.

Yuugi smiles at Iku, pulls a sake cup out from under her shirt, then fills it up with grape juice, saying "here, you earned it."

Iku closes her eyes and smiles widely, then drinks her juice contently alongside Yuugi.

* * *

Later that day, two rips in space open adjacent to each other, and from the left one come Yukari, Reimu, and Remilia, and from the right one, Ail, Sanae and Budou.

When they see each other, Reimu asks "no problems, I assume?"

Ail and Sanae looks dreadfully tired, and sounding almost annoyed, Ail says "n-none at all... right Budou?"

Budou giggles nervously and says "she was biting too hard."

Reimu sighs and says "sorry I asked."

Ail is suddenly lifted from the ground by a squealing woman, who says "my baby boy is acting like such a mature grownup!"

Ail sighs and looks unamused and tired as his limbs sway left and right, while Ayalina hugs and swings him around.

Sanae looks at them and thinks "I'm too tired", and right after thinking that, she feels herself being gently lifted from the ground by Suwako.

The goddess smiles at the yawning little girl in her hands and says "what a naughty little girl. Away from home this long without saying a word."

Sanae yawns again and say "I'm sorry lady Moriya. But at least we found... the... cure."

With those words, little Sanae falls asleep on Suwako's arms, and that's when Reimu asks "I take it Suika managed to tell you about the cure?"

Suwako nods and says "the entire mountain knows by now."

From inside the shrine, Rumia peeks her head and says "and so does the Bamboo Forest."

Before Reimu can ask, Agava and Mima jump from under Reimu and say "the Forest of Magic is clear!"

Suika and Shinki, who are holding on to Marisa and Alice, walk from the back of the shrine, and Shinki happily says "they're having a party at Makai, so we're all set."

Suika adds "and I think that's everyone."

Reimu smiles and says "nobody went to the Myouren Temple. Someone has to go and tell them."

Budou smiles and asks "wait... what if there are more people we missed?"

Reimu rubs her little chin while pondering, then says "you're right. No matter what, there no guarantee we got everyone."

Suika suddenly smiles widely, then Budou chuckles nervously and says "I'm going to need help preparing dinner."

Remilia smiles and says "ah, if only Sakuya was here."

From behind Remilia, Sakuya says "but I am right here, my lady."

Remilia twitches and yelps, then slowly turns around, laughing nervously while saying "heh-heh, don't do that, Sakuya!"

Sakuya bows down as elegantly as ever, and says "I'll help with the preparations my lady."

A pair of hands stick themselves inside Sakuya's shirt and start rummaging.

Sakuya screams out loud, while Remilia shouts "you sick celestial, what the HELL are you doing to my Sakuya?"

As if not even listening, Tenshi seems to find what she was looking for and quickly pulls her hands out from Sakuya's shirt, pulling a pair of pads.

Remilia stares at Tenshi's little treasure, then back at Sakuya, whose face is all red as she clenches her teeth while glaring at Tenshi, and even though Tenshi pulled those out of Sakuya's shirt, her chest size looks exactly the same.

Sakuya growls and asks "what the hell was that for, you idiot?"

Tenshi puts on the pads, making it look like she has a more decent chest, then says "it's a start... but I need more if I'm gonna BEAT that girl!"

Remilia's and Sakuya's eyes glow scarlet as they stare daggers toward Tenshi, then Remilia says "I'm gonna teach you not to mess with Sakuya", while Sakuya says "I am going to teach you proper manners, you heavenly freak!"

While Sakuya and Remilia beat up Tenshi, Reimu sighs and says "we aren't moving forward at all."

A red balls bounces right in front of Reimu's face, getting Reimu's immediate attention, then Reimu clenches her eyes, raises her arms, then runs after it while shouting "ball, ball, the ball is back! YAY, let's play with the ball!"

Just like magic, Sanae wakes up full of energy, Ail completely reanimates, Marisa squeals with glee, Alice frees herself from Shinki, Agava and Mima smile widely, Yukari opens a gap where Meiling pops her tiny head from, and Ran jumps from inside the shrine, and as soon as they start chasing the ball around, Suika chuckles and says "that's so cute."

Remilia is now standing right next to Suika, and with a smile on her face, she says "I know. It's just adorable!"

* * *

After everything settles down again at late noon, Iku silently pokes the twitching body of Tenshi, while Suika stands in the center of the back of the shrine, saying "this might take some time, but it should work just fine."

Reimu holds the little red ball in her hands, and while sitting on the porch along with the other children, she says "just do it, and be careful."

Suika closes her eyes and starts to concentrate, quickly spreading her mist all over Gensokyo.

Reimu looks to her right and notices Rika is sitting on Chen's lap, and at first, though feeling a bit jealous, she doesn't pay much attention, until she notices Chen doesn't have her charmed vest on.

Her little eyes expand with great surprise, even letting go of the little ball, then exclaims "CHEN! You don't have the charm on!"

Chen looks curiously toward Reimu, then Rika answers for her "it's alright, miss Reimu. For some reason, even without the charm, she's been very mellow."

Ran adds "I swear, she's acting like her young self again."

Chen smiles and says "it's true", then snuggles Rika, which makes Ran and Reimu very jealous, and continues "I feel so calm and relaxed now."

Reimu stares at Rika as she involuntarily flaps her wings, then says to herself "as, I see. As long as it's alright, I guess."

Suika suddenly opens her eyes and gasps, then says "ah, here they come, Reimu."

As soon as she says that, she raises her arms above her head and concentrates a ball of energy, then Yuka, Kurumi and Elly are sucked into the concentrated energy, and before Yuka can complain, Satori, Koishi, Okuu, Orin and Petal are brought in as well.

Reimu gasps and exclaims "Suika, stop. You're going to squish them!"

Before Suika stops, four more people are sucked into the energy, but by now it's too dark to tell who they are.

When Suika stops, everyone above her head drops on her back, leaving her squirming as she pulls herself free, grunting "ugh, too heavy."

After Suika breaks free, Yuka pops her head form inside the pile and exclaims "who the hell has the guts to do that to me? I'm going to..."

Yuka spots the red ball in Reimu's hands, forgets what she was just saying, approaches Reimu, points at the ball, then Reimu smiles and says "ok!", and just like that, all the kids, but Rika and Ran, who are sitting on Chen's lap, run all over the ample back of the shrine, trying all to play with a single ball.

Meanwhile, Satori manages to grab Orin and Okuu then frees herself from under Koishi and Petal, then asks "what is the meaning of this?"

Suika sits on the ground, taking a sip from a small sake cup, keeping in mind the children may be watching, then says "I'm sorry, I was supposed to gather those that haven't heard the news on how to turn back to normal."

Satori gasps and asks "there's a way to turn back?"

Suika asks "gosh, didn't that jealousy girl tell you? Chen, didn't you tell them to spread the word?"

Chen looks at Suika and says "we did."

Rika adds "she was even jealous we knew about the cure before her."

Koishi and Petal stand beside Satori and help her back to her feet, then Koishi says "yup, that sounds like her. She told me all about it, but said she was jealous of my hair, so I left and went back home."

Petal stretches her arm and smacks Koishi on the head, then says "important thing it was. Telling of us you should have, and Satori-shama!"

Satori sighs and says "look, it's alright. Just tell us the cure already."

Suika offers each a cup of Sake and says "here it is. Sake!"

Satori stares at her cup, and the inexplicable 3rd arm from Suika, then says "wait, children can't drink that!"

Suika smiles and says "I know, that's why there's also grape or cherry juice. Oh, you can have beer too!"

Koishi and Petal accept their cups and immediately drink from them, and after Suika retracts two of her arms, Satori says "look, I'm not giving sake to these two-"

Satori opens her eyes widely in surprise after showing her arms to Suika, only to realize that Orin and Okuu are gone, then asks "wh-where are those two?"

Satori accepts the sake cup, then Suika points behind them, and as Satori looks behind her, she takes a quick gulp of her drink and after sighing, she says "they are incorrigible."

Both Orin and Okuu have joined the group of children that are playing with the red ball, and while this happens, Kurumi, who already has a sake cup on her hands, asks "and who are these?"

She points behind herself with her thumb as four figures, three small and one big, stand up.

* * *

Reimu now stands beside Suika and exclaims "Rikako, slim and smart Kyo!"

A little girl with long, purple hair and wearing a pair of oversized glasses, and a slightly oversized coat, exclaims "please~ Give us something to eat!"

With a loudly growling stomach, Kyo's shadow self, who looks like a big-headed stick figure with a coat, calmly says "we've been stuck underground for a while. Ever since we turned into kids, the machines stopped responding to us!"

Rikako desperately says "I'm starving! PLEASE, ANYTHING!"

From inside the shrine, Budou, in a musical and sweet tone of voice, calls "dinner's ready~"

All the children stop playing and look toward the shrine with drooling mouths and hungry eyes, then exclaims at the same time "YAY~" then rush inside.

Rikako cries as she looks at Reimu, then Reimu looks at Suika with a mischievous smile, then Suika says "don't be mean Reimu", turns her attention to Rikako and Kyo's shadow, and continues "of course you may join in."

In an instant, little Rikako and Kyo's little shadow rush toward the shrine as Reimu calls "Remilia, Budou, we have more guests than expected!"

Sakuya stands right behind Reimu, and while bowing she says "we were expecting such blunder, so we prepared plenty."

Reimu yelps and jumps on to Suika's lap, then trembles as she stares back at Sakuya and says "d-d-d-don't scare me like that, you idiot!"

Sakuya smirks and says "I'm sorry, I won't do it again", then turns around and whispers "so cute."

After everyone else leaves, Reimu and Suika stare at the two silhouettes in front of them, and before Reimu can ask, the tiny shadow says "Chiyuri, you were right! We ARE in Gensokyo again!"

The woman called Chiyuri replies "see, I TOLD you! You're such a scatter brain sometimes, you know that?"

Reimu looks at Suika and says "drag them."

Suika grabs the woman, who holds the child in her hands, then drags them toward the light that shines from inside the shrine, ignoring the complains from the woman while doing so.

When they come into the light, Reimu stares at them and asks "and who the heck are you two?"

The woman has long blonde hair that reaches to the middle of her back, yellow eyes, a baby face, a well shaped body with a normal sized chest, and wears a white sailor's hat and a sailor's uniform that's too small for her, leaving her belly and most of her legs exposed.

The little girl has short, wavy dark-red hair that reaches to her shoulder, dark red eyes, and wears a matching red dress, a red vest over a white long-sleeved shirt, a small cape with rising shoulder cloths, and red bowtie around her neck.

The little girl looks at the blond woman and excitedly says "look, Chiyuri, it's the magic girl! We really ARE back!"

Chiyuri smiles and says "yeah, yeah, I know. I can see."

Reimu asks "magic... girl?"

The little girl looks excitedly at Reimu and says "wait, you don't remember me? It's me, Yumemi Okazaki! I tried to abduct you to show that damned university that magic exists!"

Reimu rubs her chin while thinking, then shrugs and says "I'd probably remember you if that were true. And who's the blonde sailor, your mom?"

Chiyuri stomps on the ground and says "I'm Chiyuri Kitashirakawa, you idiot! Clearly you're some kind of retard if you can't even remem-"

Suika grabs Chiyuri by her shirt and lifts her with no effort, and with anger in her eyes she says "apologize to Reimu or I'll pound you to pudding right here!"

Yumemi sighs and says "you really should learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes."

Chiyuri shivers as she says "sh-shut up", then looks at little Reimu, who is sniffling and sobbing while looking away, then says "oh my, I'm sorry. I guess I went too far."

Suika gets Chiyuri closer to her face, and with an angry expression, she whispers "I'll be watching you, little lady."

As if nothing ever happened, Reimu says "well, let's go inside. I'm hungry. We can eat, have a sleepover, then tomorrow you can tell us more about you, you weirdoes."

Yumemi smiles and says "yay! I get to sleep in a magical shrine!", then signals Chiyuri to get closer and whispers "keep your eyes peeled and your mouth shut, or they could turn us into frogs."

Reimu stares at the two girls, then says "this is going to be very interesting."

Suika nods, then grabs Reimu and Yumemi, then walks toward the shrine.

Chiyuri takes a step toward the shrine, and a golden washtub falls right on her head, knocking her to the ground.

Written in red on the side of the washtub, is the word "Welcome", which Chiyuri reads with contempt.

She gets up, grabs the washtub, walks to the front of the shrine, then throws it down the stairs and dusts her hands while saying "take THAT you stupid household item of no real value!"

After she turns around, that very same washtub comes straight at her and smacks her right on the forehead, knocking her out cold and leaving the word "emocleW" marked on her head.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell cards and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Kyo, Luna, Shadow Kyo, Agava and Ayalina were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot2010

JUL 03 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Did you really think I was just going to end it so soon? Shame on you. Although I have to say, I do have a million ideas with this, I must end it soon. I'm starting to write a back story for the Scarlet Devil Mansion cast, as well as a few other spin-offs for the Sukima series, so I'll be closing the curtains on this fiction really soon.**

**Now, I wonder, who remembers the PC-98 characters? I know many of us do, and adding Chiyuri and Yumemi should be nice, and I might be adding a few more from the Dim Dream (TH3) cast, but let's not rush it. There are already plenty of characters, and honestly, I feel as though I'm forgetting someone. Hmm, I better do a head-count. Anyway, hope you are enjoying. Take care and see you next time, if the kind spirits will allow. They are good, you know.**


	7. Chapter 7

It's early morning at Makai, and in the main hall of Pandemonium, which is being remodeled to look similar to the inside of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Shinki sighs as she lets the book she was just reading drop from her hands, on to her lap.

She looks at the tall window that stands in front of her large, and very comfortable looking chair, then says "not matter what I try, she won't come back home. Ah well, I still got Yumeko."

As if having being summoned at the mentioning of her name, little Yumeko stumbles through the hall, trying to move as fast as her tiny legs can carry her, and once she's close to Shinki, she bows down and asks "h-how may I be of service, mama... er, I mean, lady Shinki?"

Shinki smiles widely and giggles, then suddenly grabs Yumeko and sits her on her lap, saying "stay with me like this."

Yumeko's face turns beet red as she struggles to run away from Shinki, saying "my lady, that wouldn't be proper! It's not a proper thing to do!"

Shinki smiles and asks "aww, but didn't you just call me 'mama'? Come on, it's alright."

Little Yumeko manages to slip out of Shinki's hands, and jumps to the ground below, running away while blushing and saying "I got stuff to clean, so-so I'm a bit busy, bye!"

After Yumeko manages to leave the room, Shinki's smile vanishes, quickly replaced by a sad frown.

Her eyes hide under her hair as she rests her elbow on the chair's armrest, and her head on her hand, and looking rather glum she says to herself "maybe they don't love me. Alice gave me that look, and now Yumeko just ran away."

She sighs and looks around the hall, letting her book slip from her lap as she says to herself "no. They love me. It's just, I am being pushy. Yes, that's it. Mmm, I guess I better just... back off."

Shinki takes a deep breath as she straightens up, resting her back on her chair, looking both sad and a bit angry, thinking "it's all my own fault."

Out of nowhere, Yuki falls on Shinki's lap, smiling and giggling, immediately giving her goddess and mother a hug, saying "MAMA~ I'm back!"

Shinki stares at Yuki with surprise, eager to give her a big hug, but remembers what she just said to herself and simply asks in surprise "Yuki! Where did you come from? Where have you been?"

Yuki smiles and looks up at Shinki while still hugging her and says "I went to Gensokyo again, then I went to the village, where I was the bomb. Then I played with some goddesses, then I got hungry and tried to eat a bat, but she didn't like it, so Sara and Luize brought me home."

When Shinki looks to the long red carpet in front of her chair, she sees Sara and the tiny Luize smiling while bowing to her, Sara saying "it was tough, but we got her!"

Shinki smiles, but stops and looks to her lap when she feels a hard poke on her belly.

Yuki looks up with glassy, yet determined eyes and says "you forget mean Alice and silly Yumeko! You can hug me ALL you want", then whispers "just make sure I'm well fed."

Shinki squeals with glee and grabs Yuki, giving her a big hug, then Yuki says to her "see? Now Yumeko's all jealous at the door."

She sticks out her tongue at little Yumeko, who is angrily peeking through the door, then the tiny maid storms out into the open, stretches her cheeks, then sticks out her tongue at Yuki.

Shinki can't help but start giggling, which progresses to a hearty laugh after witnessing Yumeko's love for her.

Just like that, there is a beeping sound coming from Yuki's bottom.

Everyone stares curiously at Yuki, who lifts up her skirt to reveal a timer that has hit 0, and with an angelic smile on her face, she spreads her arms and legs and shouts "BOOM!"

Just like that, the entire room is engulfed in a large ball of fire that disappears almost as soon as it starts.

Shinki continues to giggle, hugging Yuki tightly against herself, ignoring the burns stains all over her face, and the fizzle on her hair, then says "that was a nice trick, Yuki!"

Yuki giggles and says "yeah! I make a good bomb, don't I?"

Shinki happily says "oh yes, you are a perfect little bomb."

While Shinki and Yuki giggle and laugh, Luize and Sara lie on the ground, spitting out a large cloud of smoke, while Yumeko stares with contempt toward Yuki and Shinki, whispering "she's in my spot."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu is the first to wake up, due to the heat waking her.

She feels hot, sweaty, and a bit annoyed as she walks down to the shrine's living room, where Chiyuri and Yumemi are sleeping.

She decides to check on Rika, and upon heading down the corridor and opening Rika's sliding door, she finds she's sleeping with Chen to her left and Ran to her right.

Reimu smiles and closes the door, and when she walks back to the living room, she finds Suika and little Mima sitting by the small table, smiling widely at her.

Reimu can't help but return the smile, then the three of them exit the shrine as quietly as possible.

Outside, Suika asks "so you want me to try and gather them here again, or you rather go there yourself?"

Reimu smiles as she looks up at Suika, then says "I'll go there. If there's trouble, like with Youmu, it would be best if I... of someone can be there to assist them."

Mima looks at Reimu and smiles, then says "it's amazing how you've been able to keep your grown mind, being a human and all."

Reimu sighs and looks to the sky, then says "it hasn't been easy. It's been a whole week now, and every day, it gets harder to focus... and that red ball surely doesn't help."

Suika smiles and pats Reimu on the head, then says "don't worry. Today we all return to normal. Last night I used a lot of power to summon those guys, so it's very possible the Myouren Temple is the only one left that doesn't know about the cure."

Reimu sighs with a smile as a cold wind caresses her face, which makes her smile vanish suddenly, as she asks "hey, did... did you guys feel that?"

Suika gently pats Reimu's head and says "don't pay much mind to it, Reimu."

Mima adds "it's gonna be fine."

Right after Mima finishes her sentence, Yumemi calls "miss magical shrine maiden! Good morning~"

Reimu twitches and turns around, saying "oh geez, there she goes again", then smiles at Yumemi and says "good morning. Please call me Reimu."

Yukari suddenly appears right behind Reimu, and resting her arms on Reimu's shoulders, Yukari smiles and says "hope you're ready to grow up again, miss Hakurei Maiden."

Reimu looks a bit annoyed and says "Yukari, don't remind me who caused all this to begin with so early in the morning."

As if realizing something, Reimu snaps her fingers with a gasp, then asks "Yukari, haven't you been able to turn back to adult even once? I mean, you can change into a little girl at will, so..."

Yukari sighs and says "I tried, but I'm afraid if I keep trying I might become a mere newborn."

Reimu smirks and says "that would be cute."

Yumemi finally reaches them and immediately asks "are you guys talking about magic? Can you repeat what you said? Is it true you tried to eat the boy the green-haired magical maiden likes so much?"

Reimu wraps an arm around Yumemi's neck and covers her mouth, laughing nervously while saying "we do not speak so boldly in the morning without making an offering and a prayer first!"

Before anyone notices, Yumemi is already placing some money inside the donation box, ringing the bell with some effort, then praying silently for a moment, then runs back to Reimu and asks "now will you answer?"

Reimu smiles and says "well, why don't we have some breakfast first, and THEN we can talk, huh?"

Yumemi gasps with excitement, as though she's just been told they are going to her favorite theme park, then rapidly nods and says "yay, I get to finally study magic!"

* * *

Later, in the Human Village, in front of the House of Hieda, mansion of Gensokyo's chronicler, Akyuu Hieda, a large explosion raises a lot of dirt that rains down on to the mansion's roof.

Many of the house's servants run outside to see what is going on, accompanied by non-other than Akyuu herself.

One of the child-like servants notices her presence and immediately bows his head, saying "my lady Hieda!"

Soon after, the other little servants are all bowing down to their grown up mistress.

Her hair has remained exactly the same length, perhaps due to one of her few still grown up servants cutting it for her.

Though she wears her usual attire, her shapely body can be admired and her chest seems to have grown too, however she hides herself well.

She looks toward the towering dust curtain and asks "now what kind of youkai would be attacking this place so early in the morning?"

From the dust cloud, the annoying voice of Tenshi reaches everyone's ears as she says "dammit Iku, why did you do that? We landed ALL the way down to this place!"

When the smoke clears, Iku is looking up to Tenshi, shrugging at her while looking unamused.

Tenshi rubs her own forehead and says "whatever. Let's just fly there!"

Before they move, Akyuu excitedly calls "WAIT! Miss celestial, please wait!"

Tenshi stops so abruptly, she falls face-down to the ground, but jumps back up so fast, it's like she bounces like a ball.

She looks back and asks "wh-what is it, miss?"

Akyuu approaches Tenshi and asks "please, could you come with me? I need to ask you something very important."

Tenshi looks curiously at Akyuu, then shakes her head and says "sorry, but I have to go to the shrine and bother... I mean, inform the maiden there about something."

Akyuu looks disappointed to the ground and sighs, then asks "well, could you come another time? I really need to ask you about that battle you had with miss Rika."

Tenshi's eyes glint as she turns around and smiles, scaring Akyuu a bit, then says "well, that's more important than informing the maiden. Prepare to be left in awe as I tell you the tale of the brave celestial that fought, and lost, against the maid of the maiden right there in heaven! There's drama, passion, action, love, betrayal and a BEAUTIFUL heroine who's sure to take your heart from the beginning."

Akyuu giggles and points at Tenshi's left, and when Tenshi looks down, Iku is preparing to shock her with an electric bolt on the tip of her finger.

Tenshi start to tremble, so Akyuu decides to save her by saying "it's alright, miss Tenshi. You can come another time. Besides, I rather have miss Rika here too. As chronicler of Gensokyo, I MUST have both stories."

Tenshi stares at Akyuu with a neutral face, then asks "you think I would lie to you?"

Before Akyuu can answer, Tenshi is shocked by Iku, knocked down to the ground, then dragged by her ankle toward the Hakurei shrine.

Akyuu stares toward the celestial and oarfish youkai, smiles, then says "this will be an interesting interview."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Misty Lake, Cirno sits on the very edge of the other side of the shore, facing toward the Scarlet island, dunking her feet in the water and freezing the immediate area around her legs, yet keeping the center unfrozen.

She looks toward the center of the lake, where many giant orbs of ice float on, and above the water, each holding inside its own little world.

Cirno raises her hand, and from the center of the lake, another giant orb rises, this one vibrating and emanating a constant tune that although at bit high-key, feels soothing as the sound and vibration surround the ice fairy.

A small foot steps behind Cirno, so the ice fairy signals the orb to go down, and as it goes back into the water, she asks "what is it, Letty?"

Little Letty stares back at Cirno, holding on to a white cat with black eyes.

Without turning around, Cirno asks "hey Letty? How come you're not sleeping? It's summer, autumn is just around the corner, yet you're still roaming about."

Letty shrugs and says "I dunno. I'm just full of energy."

The cat meows in a strange way that sounds as though it's an echo over another echo.

Cirno turns around and spots the cat on Letty's hand, then says "I see. I guess I better get going."

Letty smiles and hops toward Cirno, offering her the cat, and after Cirno gets up and takes the cat form Letty's hand, the little girl flies to one of the highest ice orbs and says "I'm going to try that imaginary sword-girl game again. See you later~"

After Letty enters the orb, Cirno waves with her fingers and stares with a blank expression, then whispers "see you later, dear."

Cirno walks on the water, creating temporary ice patches that disappear as soon as she lifts her leg, then forms again when she places her foot on the water, then a sudden burst of water surrounds her and the cat, and as soon as the water sinks back, Cirno and the white cat are gone.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu, Mima and Suika, who come from the lake behind the shrine, approach Budou, who is on the shrine's back porch, waiting for them.

When they get close, Budou asks "so is she coming yet?"

Reimu sighs and says "we can't wait any longer. Suika, you stay here in case of any emergencies."

Suika smiles at Reimu and says "I'll take care of everything here. Miss Budou, I have to outmost confidence you'll take good care of miss Reimu and her guests."

Budou chuckles and says "you can certainly count on me."

After saying that, a giant pillar of ice rises from the lake, and after reaching the clouds, it turns around and drops down, creating a giant ice arch that ends right in front of Reimu and Suika.

Cirno walks out of the ice, and as she does, the arch start to melt, creating a giant rainbow behind it.

Cirno looks at Reimu and Suika, offers the single yin-yang orb back to Reimu, then says "sorry I'm so late."

Surprised, Reimu says "you... I thought... When you told me you could use bodies of water to move about, I wasn't expecting THIS!"

Cirno giggles while sticking out her tongue, then says "well, you know... I just wanted to make a good entrance."

From behind Budou, Chiyuri exclaims "holy crap, is that a fairy?"

Yumemi exclaims "whoa! This is getting more and more exciting!"

Yumemi approaches Cirno and tries to climb up her dress, so Cirno picks her up and Yumemi immediately asks "how strong are you? Can I study you? Can you tell me the first principles of using magic? WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER?"

Cirno looks nervously at Suika and Reimu, then Reimu shrugs and says "try to ignore her. She's just going to QUIETLY observe, correct?"

Yumemi blushes and winks, then says "whoops, I forgot. Tee-hee."

Cirno stares at Yumemi with curiosity, but simply rubs her little head and smiles.

* * *

At the Myouren Temple, Kogasa sits on the roof of the temple, looking around while swaying left and right, humming a very cheery tune to herself.

Beside her is Mystia, who just happens to be there, just humming along with Kogasa.

The karakasa youkai grabs her umbrella from under her feet and looks into its eye and says "living here isn't so bad. Sure I have to work a little, but everyone is so nice, and there's so much food! And even miss Byakuren can be nice... sometimes."

The umbrella blinks once, then licks Kogasa's cheek.

Kogasa giggles, then looks at Mystia and says "thanks for the backup. It really was more beautiful with your voice added in."

Mystia smiles widely and says "don't forget to visit my lamprey stand!"

Kogasa waves at Mystia as she flies away, then whispers to her umbrella "there should be plenty of people to surprise there!"

Again, the umbrella blinks, then their attention is turned to the entrance, where little Reimu calls "Hello~ Anyone! It's me, Reimu! We're coming in!"

Kogasa stares at the five visitors, and sounding curious she asks herself "well this is a surprise. I wonder what's up?"

The first one to walk out of the temple to greet the guests is Nue, who still wears Byakuren's dress.

Reimu stares at Nue for a moment, then says "well, how decent. It actually suits you."

Nue fiddles with her fingers, blushes and mumbles "u-um, thanks. The other one was too small."

She composes herself, then asks "so what brings you here? And who are these?"

As Kogasa lands softly next to Nue, Reimu says "well, you know Budou, this is Cirno the ice fairy from the Misty Lake, that's Chiyuri, and this little eager girl is Yumemi. She wants to... study our magic... Though I keep telling her my powers are just divine powers, she..."

Yumemi angrily says "it's MAGIC! You're just trying to confuse me!"

Kogasa and Nue look at each other through the corner of their eyes, then Nue sweats as she smiles nervously and says "y... you don't say. How interesting. Still, little Budou, it's just like I said before. You're gonna be beautiful when you grow up."

Budou giggles and blushes while looking away, then says "thanks", recomposing herself and adding "anyway, we came here to tell you all that we found the cure for this age spell!"

Nue gasps and stares at the girls with excitement and surprise, then excitedly exclaims "you found a cure? FINALLY! Hurry, you gotta tell me all about it!"

Amongst the excitement, nobody but Chiyuri notices Kogasa's fright, and not holding back, Chiyuri says "so, the blue-haired cutie over there doesn't want to return to normal. We should BEAT her up right now!"

Budou immediately gets in front of Chiyuri, then says "we do NOT force anyone."

Reimu sighs and says "that's right. It is their choice to make, however, Kogasa, keep in mind not all of us are as pleased as you."

Kogasa stands defensively, prepared for any incoming attack, but after Reimu speaks, she calms down and nods, but doesn't say a word.

Nue points with her hand toward the temple and excitedly says "please, come in, come in! I am sure everyone else will be pleased with these news!"

Budou and Cirno bow along with little Reimu, while Chiyuri looks around seemingly bored, and Yumemi exclaims with admiration at every single thing she sees.

All five follow after Nue, walking past Kogasa, who flinches and keeps herself distanced from them, fearing they might attack her, but after they pass by, she relaxes and says to herself "phew... That was close. Oh, I wanted to stay like this a little longer. Uuu, what should I do, Karakasa?"

She stares at her umbrella, hoping for an answer, but then she hears someone calling over.

"Pst!"

Kogasa looks around for the source of the sound, then looks at her umbrella and asks "did you hear that?"

Again "pst", followed by a "hey you, idiot."

Kogasa looks behind herself, and finds little Byakuren hiding behind a tree stump and looking back at her seriously.

Kogasa asks "Byakuren? What's the matter?"

Byakuren continues to stare at Kogasa in silence, making her feel a bit uneasy.

* * *

Inside the temple, after Reimu explains to everyone how to break the spell, Nue and Nazrin immediately partake of some sake, while Shou, Minamitsu, Ichirin and Unzan all have a bit of cherry juice.

Budou and Reimu count everyone, then say at the same time "we're missing two of them."

Nue and Nazrin look around, then Nazrin asks "where's that karakasa girl... and little lady Hijiri?"

Ichirin whispers to little Unzan, and after he whispers back to her, Ichirin softly says "um... er... They-they're outside."

Reimu looks at them and asks "what are you two talking about over there?"

Little Minamitsu walks toward the door and bursts it open with a push, then says "she said outside."

Everyone runs outside, but before Minamitsu and Chiyuri follow, they stare at each other for some time.

After a while, Minamitsu says "keep sharp, sailor!", to which Chiyuri salutes and responds "aye, aye, captain! ... NOW WAIT A MINUTE!"

Before she can argue with Minamitsu, the little captain is already outside and looking up at little Byakuren and Kogasa, who are floating side by side, glaring down to the ground.

When the two mischief makers see everyone is outside the temple, Byakuren shouts "no chance in HELL I'm gonna grow up! It's WAY too much fun being like this!"

Kogasa adds "I've never been able to scare others so easily before! I'm not giving that up without a fight!"

From the ground, Budou shouts "but what about the rest of us? Byakuren, Kogasa, you are a friend of papa Ail and me! We want to go back to normal. Please, don't do this to us!"

Byakuren smiles and says "it's not that we don't care about you..."

Kogasa finishes "but this is a great chance for US, and we damned well deserve this!"

Cirno steps up, smiling tenderly at the girls in the sky, then calmly says "allow me to reason with them, miss Budou."

Budou looks back at Cirno, then nods and steps back.

Kogasa and Byakuren see this as a challenge, so they both smile wickedly at each other, then back at the people on the ground, then each pulls a spell card from their skirt pockets.

They both shout a war cry at the same time, Byakuren flies above Kogasa, doing a cartwheel, while Kogasa rolls underneath, lifting her legs up, leaving her body horizontal, and spreading her arms around.

Once they stop, Byakuren is floating to match Kogasa's height, and Kogasa lifts her right leg, then they cross their arms as they declare their spell cards at the same time.

Byakuren shouts "Yuugyou Hijiri!" while Kogasa shouts "Rainbow Sign, Over the Rainbow!"

Although weakened, Hijiri's spell causes a curtain of kunai knives to shower down, while Kogasa's spell causes a giant rainbow to literally rain down along with numerous large raindrops, all attacks headed toward Cirno, who simply smiles tenderly at them and raises her hand, creating a large ice shield that covers herself and everyone else behind her.

Reimu watches with amazement as every single danmaku shot becomes a water droplet, and all that water, after touching the ground, becomes an expansive and beautiful flower garden.

After the first wave of attack stops, Cirno flies up, leaving her shield behind to protect her friends, and approaches Byakuren and Kogasa.

With a smile on her face, Cirno says "alright, you naughty girls, that's enough."

Kogasa stares at Cirno with fright and amazement, and asks "wh-what are you doing?"

Byakuren shouts "HA~,I GOT YOU NOW!"

Byakuren tries to power up, but all she manages to do is make her purple kunai turn red for a very brief moment.

Byakuren looks around herself and asks "wait, where's my lotus?"

Cirno giggles, shaking her head, then says "you lack the energy to summon more power than what you are already using. You are now at your limit, little one."

Byakuren looks at both of her hands, trying to summon some power to her, however with her spell card active, all she can do is continue the ineffective shower.

Meanwhile, Kogasa tries a sneak attack on Cirno, but the ice fairy simply smiles at her, already aware of the rainbow shower, then summons another ice shield, and instead of turning the danmaku into life-giving water drops, this one bounces the entire attack straight back at Byakuren and Kogasa, knocking them both down from the skies.

Cirno rushes to grab Byakuren, while Budou uses one of her screeches to slow Kogasa's fall with its sound vibrations.

Once safely on the ground, Kogasa and Byakuren find themselves drinking cherry juice with defeated smiles, Nue angrily saying "and while we wait for this to take effect, YOU, little miss angel, are going to your room, and YOU, miss rainbow surprise, are going to tend to this beautiful garden with the outmost care, understood?"

Byakuren pouts as she crosses her arms over her chest, grumbling while saying "dammit! Ugh, I hope this wears off soon!"

Kogasa sobs, smiles, and says "oh well, at least I'll smell pretty."

* * *

At the Hakurei Shrine, Rika, Ran and Chen sit by the donation box, waiting for lunch to be served.

A disturbing and continuous dragging and bumping sound, accompanied by a woman complaining from the stairs, unsettles their peace, and get ready for anything that is to come.

Slowly flying up the stairs while holding a leg, Iku, with an unamused face, flies toward the shrine grounds, quickly revealing that the leg she's holding belongs to Tenshi, who has been dragged all the way from the village and up the stairs to the shrine.

When Rika sees them, she exclaims "miss Iku, Tenshi, what's going on?"

Ran stares at the situation and says "well this is a first."

Chen quickly says "yeah. Look at what the oarfish dragged in."

Immediately after Iku releases Tenshi's leg, the celestial springs up and shouts "that's not funny! Now where the heck is..."

With great surprise, Tenshi looks down and spots little Rika, looking up at her and flapping her wings slowly, saying "welcome to the shrine. Um... we're about to have lunch, and there may not be much, but you can join us if you want. Heh heeh."

Tenshi's cheeks slowly turn pink as she stares at Rika, and after the quick giggle, Rika finds herself on Tenshi's arms, asking "um, Tenshi?"

Tenshi blindly rubs Rika's head, making little Rika smile and blush a little, and as she does this, she thinks "crap, what's the MATTER with me? I... I can't stop! She's so cute!"

Iku stares straight into Tenshi's eyes, and right after Tenshi notices, she blushes beet red and asks "wh-what? What's the matter with you, Nagae?"

A speech bubble appears above Iku's head, filled with a squiggly line that seems to wriggle in place, showing she's annoyed.

Tenshi smacks Iku on the head and shouts "don't be so perverted! And right in front of children!"

Iku crouches on the ground, holding on to her hat while a bandaged bump pulsates right on top of it and a tear dangles from her right eye.

Ran and Chen stand beside Iku, patting her head with sympathizing smiles, when Suika suddenly call "lunch is ready! Come and get it! That means you two as well, miss celestial and miss oarfish!"

Like Magic, Iku recovers and smiles, then accompanies Chen and Ran to the shrine, while Tenshi continues to stare at Rika.

Rika points to the shrine and says "Tenshi, it's lunch time", while rapidly flapping her tiny wings.

Tenshi starts to tremble, her eyes widen, her iris expand, her pupils shrink, then Iku grabs and pulls Rika away, just as Tenshi's nose explodes with jet-streams of blood, falling to the ground with a blank stare and blissful smile.

Moments later, after eating lunch, Tenshi, who has her nose plugged with pieces of bloodied napkins, sighs and says "and I missed such an important interview too."

Suika smiles and says "look, she's sure to come soon, so why don't you just wait for a bit."

Tenshi scratches the back of her head and says "well, just so you all know, heaven knows about the cure, and everyone had beer. It was one heck of a party up there..."

Iku blushes as a speech bubble with a heart pops right above her head.

Chen, Ran and Suika stare at Iku with terrified face, while Rika looks at all of them with question marks popping all around her head.

Suddenly, they all turn their attention to the entrance of the shrine, where they hear Reimu shouting "then why the HELL are we still like this?"

On the doorway stand Reimu, Cirno and Budou, all looking a bit disappointed as well as tired.

Suika asks "so you want me to try gathering them up again?"

Reimu sighs and sounding desperate, yet still polite, says "please, do. We definitely missed someone! Yes, that HAS to be it!"

Without waiting for another second, Suika jumps on to her feet and rushes outside to the back of the shrine, summoning miniature versions of herself that look just like her normal self, in both size and looks, except for the second set of horns on their foreheads, and after standing on the center of the back of the shrine, she says "gather to me all those unaware of the cure!"

The mini-Suikas spread around faster than Suika's mist can.

While this happens, Rika asks "miss Reimu, what happened to miss Chiyuri and miss Yumemi?"

An evil smirk fills Reimu's face as she says "oh, they decided to stay over at the Myouren Temple. She wants to study magic there."

At the Myouren Temple, Byakuren bangs on the door of her room, shouting "PLEASE! I won't do it again, I PROMISE! Just let me go~"

Behind her, the excited Yumemi holds a strange machine with a large black monitor, saying "please, just show me again! I'll just record you with this, then you can show me again, so I can take notes! COME ON!"

Byakuren's eyes expand and starts banging on her door even harder, crying with despair.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, the mini-Suikas return empty-handed, and Suika's mist stops spreading.

Suika looks seriously at Reimu, then says "Reimu, everybody in Gensokyo already knows! Something else must have happened!"

Reimu scoffs and looks angrily toward the sky and says "we're going to the Scarlet Devil Mansion!"

* * *

Later that day, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia greets Reimu at the door, and immediately upon laying eyes on the maiden, she says "so you haven't lost it."

Reimu, Suika, Budou, Rika, Ran and Chen all stare at Remilia curiously, then Reimu asks "what do you mean? What happened?"

Sakuya appears to Remilia's right as the vampire signals the girls to follow her inside.

They reach the library doors, and before opening them, Remilia says "you're not going to like this, one bit."

She opens the door, and all gasp in surprise at the sight.

Patchouli is jumping on her desk and knocking out all the books on it, then jumps back down, gathers as many books as she can, then jumps back up and resumes the jumping and kicking.

Marisa is flying around on her broom, squealing and shouting while holding on to the kiddy book she found before.

Alice is forcing Shanghai and Hourai to play 'house' with her, sometimes lifting them in the air, making whooshing sounds, then making them crash against each other with a giggle.

Ail rushes to Reimu and excitedly says "Reimu, Reimu! I have good news! I pantsed Sanae and took her sleeve!"

Reimu gasps in horror and shouts "how is THAT good news?"

Budou gasps along with Reimu, then asks "where is Ayalina? What's going on here?"

Sanae runs straight to Ail, crying inconsolably, begging him to return her sleeve.

He's about to run away, but after seeing Reimu's and Budou's expression, he stops and holds his head tightly while struggling against himself to give Sanae her sleeve back, then kneels on the ground and speaks as though he's struggling to do so.

Budou tries to grab hold of him, but he pushes her hands away and manages to say "c-can't think straight. Patchouli. Someone is resisting! Someone powerful! She... won't let us... change."

He suddenly stops talking and slowly gets back up, then looks up at the group with a smile, then looks at his empty hands.

He asks "hey, who took the sleeve?"

Sanae jumps on him and starts to snuggle, saying "boyfriend~", to which Ail screams in disgust and says "no, I'll get cuties!"

Ayalina suddenly jumps from inside one of the nearest bookshelves and squeals after watching the little lovers scene, then says "my baby boy has a little girlfriend!"

Ail tries to run away from his mother's grasp, but fails to do so.

Meanwhile, Koakuma tries to take the books away from little Patchouli, struggling with the little girl to return the book, but Marisa swoops down and kicks Koakuma's back, then flies away just as Flandre tries to catch her, only to fall right on top of Koakuma.

Remilia closes the door and sighs, then asks "do you have any idea what he said there?"

Reimu face palms and says "it's Youmu. She HAS to be resisting! This is bad. She's pretty darn strong. And nobody has seen Yukari around, so there's a good chance she's fooling around as well."

Rika starts to flap her wings rapidly while on Chen's arms, then Reimu strictly calls "Rika! Try to hold on a little longer! We might need your help!"

Ran looks a bit drained as she says "d-don't blame us, Reimu. It's really getting hard to focus now. All I want..."

Rika suddenly jumps from Chen's hands and shouts "I want to PLAY!"

Rika and Ran run away toward Flandre's room while laughing, then Remilia says "this is probably happening all over Gensokyo by now. Reimu, what should we do?"

A gap opens right next to the group, then Yukari pops her head from inside.

She looks drained, her eyes look a little red, and she's shivering quite violently.

She looks at Reimu and says "no questions! Let's just go!"

Reimu nods, then she, Budou, Chen and Sakuya enter the gap, while Remilia says "Sakuya, you do your best to help them. I'll be waiting for your success."

Just before the gap closes up, Sakuya bows and says "I will not fail you, my lady."

After it closes up, Remilia looks at Suika and says "let's get them, before they get into trouble, or worse."

* * *

Meanwhile at Hakugyokurou, wood, glass, ceramic and even metal can be heard crashing and breaking all over, accompanied by Youmu's screams as she shouts "Yuyu-sama, what's gotten into you?"

Lyrica shouts "get down!", and a silver washtub flies straight out to the shrine's courtyard.

Inside, Youmu angrily shouts "Yuyuko Saigyouji! Princess or not, that is NOT a proper thing to do, little lady!"

Yuyuko stretches her cheeks to absurd proportions and sticks her tongue out at Youmu, then runs toward the corridor behind her to another room.

Lyrica looks to Youmu, seemingly ready to cry, and says "what are we going to do? These three little monsters are impossible to catch!"

Youmu looks determined toward the corridor Yuyuko took, then says "grr. I don't understand! She's acting like a little brat! Not a sign of her real self in there!"

Lyrica adds "and what about my sisters? I mean, it's normal for Merlin to moon me, but Lunasa! She's normally so strict and so calm!"

Right after saying that, Lunasa jumps hard on Lyrica's head, dizzying her sister with ease, while Merlin clings on to the back of Youmu's head, covering her eyes while giggling contently.

When Youmu tries to reach for the little girl, both jump away and run to where Yuyuko went.

Youmu stands up, followed shortly by Lyrica, and before she speaks, from outside the shrine, Sakuya calls in a demanding tone "Youmu Konpaku, you come out here!"

Youmu and Lyrica look at each other with confusion, and before going out, Youmu says "you try and convince them to at LEAST settle down, while I check what the heck's all that about."

Lyrica nods, then she and Youmu run their separate ways.

When Youmu comes out of the shrine, Reimu shouts "why the hell do you keep resisting, you half ghost?"

In front of Youmu are Reimu and Yukari, both looking a bit tired, and Sakuya, Chen and Budou, who glare at her as if ready to fight.

Youmu stares back, showing no signs of fear, then asks "what's wrong? What are you talking about?"

Yukari, sounding tired, says "Youmu, I understand you don't want to go back to normal, but holding everyone else back? Even I am losing my mind! How can you do that to us?"

Youmu stares back, holding the hilt of her long sword, then says "I truly don't know what you guys are talking about. Either start making sense, or I'll have to respond to this obvious threat."

Tension is running high, and time seems to be running short.

Youmu stands ready for an attack, still not sure about what's going on, while the others continue to stare back at her in anger, sure that she is the cause of the spell's effect to remain, even after everyone who has been affected by the spell is ready and eager to return to normal.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou and Ayalina were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot2010

JUL 05 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Uuu~ Things are heating up as we reach the end. The kids have lost their minds, and seem to be extra hyper. Hmm, I wonder what is Hina doing? Ah well, thankfully it seems my muse is with me, and helping me get inspired a lot! Anyway, not gonna say much this time, but as always, see you next chapter, if the spirits will allow, LOL.**


	8. Chapter 8

All over Gensokyo, all those who became children have lost their minds and regressed to the bliss and innocence of uncaring childhood, though the spell has also caused them to run out of control, unable to stand still for even a second, jumping, running, flying, blatantly disobeying the adults, and even attacking them at times.

At Kourindou, Rinnosuke struggles with all his might to free himself from Tokiko, who tries to speak as calmly as possible, saying "please, please, just calm down. You're going to hurt yourself!"

Star jumps on Tokiko's foot and kicks the chin of her ankle, making her release Rinnosuke and jumping in place, while she and Rinnosuke run outside to the forest; outside, where the darkness of night slowly creeps down on the land.

At Eintei, Tewi and Reisen 2 lock themselves inside Tewi's room in the storehouse, shivering and holding each other with fright, as the children giggle outside, Kaguya calling "Tewi~ Come on out and play. I wanna pull your ears again!"

At the Human Village, though it seems the adults have the upper hand, little Keine, Kyo, Luna and Shizuha continue to cause chaos all around, freeing other children from their rooms, taunting Mokou, painting walls with crayons, bouncing their balls against doors, some of those balls entering windows and breaking things inside the houses.

At the Tengu's waterfall, countless tiny tengu fly around, shooting danmaku at everything they think may be amusing.

Momiji instructs the few adult tengu left to create a parameter to stop the children from attacking, but even she is attacked by Aya and Hatate right in the middle of her planning.

Suwako battles with Kanako, who although is a child, still holds the same power she's always had, and to Suwako's dismay, the war goddess exploits Suwako's weakness all throughout their battle, forcing Suwako to hide most of the time.

At the Myouren Temple, Reisen and Nitori find themselves tied up with their backs against each other, while little Hina enters the temple with the tiny RKNS.

Nitori smiles in defeat and asks "so, any clue as to when this spell will finally wear off?"

Reisen sighs and says "no clue, but I sure hope it's soon. Somehow, those two little tikes got stronger."

Inside the temple, Hina zips behind anything she can find, stealthily and skillfully getting closer to the rooms corridor.

While she moves about, Nazrin and Nue find themselves surrounded by Shou, Ichirin and Unzan, all seemingly eager to grab them.

Nue yelps and desperately says "no! Naz, I can't take ANOTHER TICKLE ATTACK!"

Nazrin clenches her teeth and says "tch! I've had enough!"

Nazrin stands up, twirls in place, and with her tail she whips Unzan and Shou, giving Nue the chance to grab them and take them to the rooms.

When Nazrin tries the same with Ichirin, the little youkai sways to the left just in time, and although she avoids being whipped, Nazrin manages to hit her left ear, knocking it out of place, revealing a normal ear underneath the pointy one.

When Ichirin realizes what happened, she stops and start to sob, and just as she starts to cry, Nazrin grabs her and takes her to a room.

Nue and Nazrin now sit on the ground with their backs against each other, sighing with relief, then Nazrin says "finally! That Murasa sure was a pain!"

Nue sighs and says "who knew a toy anchor could do such a thing."

Nazrin suddenly comments "oi, Nue, could you back off a bit? You're invading my space."

Nue replies "you're the one pushing yourself against me."

When they take notice of their surroundings, they realize they have been skillfully tied up with a rope that entwines all over ornaments, chairs, and even the ceiling, looking like a giant spider's web.

Nue shouts "wait, what just happened?"

Nazrin struggles to free herself, then says "oh no! The kids!"

Suddenly, the children all burst out from the hall, giggling, screaming and laughing, climbing the ropes with happy faces, Yumemi chasing after Byakuren, constantly asking about magic, while Byakuren angrily distance herself from the crazed little scientist, to no avail.

Suddenly, Chiyuri drops upside-down in front of Nazrin and Nue, tied up from head to toe and looking annoyed as her hair dangles along with her.

Nazrin, sounding rather annoyed, asks "and where have you been, you no-good sailor?"

Chiyuri bluntly replies "I was trying to commandeer your ship."

Nue smiles and says "serves you right, then. *sigh* At least Kogasa is out there still. She'll save us, right?"

Little Hina uses her skirt as a parachute as she floats down with a smile, then says "if you're talking about the umbrella girl, she's the piñata."

Just outside the temple, Kogasa is fully tied up, swaying left and right, while Minamitsu swings her toy anchor around while blindfolded.

Kogasa cries as she manages to lift herself up just before the anchor hits her, then says "this is horrible! This is no sanctuary for youkai! It's just a trap for cuties like me!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Netherworld, Youmu stances ready to intercept any attack that may come her way, standing on the porch of the ghostly shrine while holding on to the hilt of her sword.

Reimu, Yukari and Sakuya glare back at Youmu, while Budou calmly approaches the shrine, saying "please, miss Youmu, I understand it's fun being all grown up and strong, but it's time to let go. It's just not natural."

Youmu growls, then angrily says "I see now. You think I did something, don't you? Well you are WAY off track! I haven't-"

Before Youmu finishes, she moves so fast, she looks like a large red and green blur.

Reimu and Yukari try to follow, but quickly find themselves rubbing their eyes.

Budou looks at the blur, then looks back at the empty spot next to Sakuya, and exclaims "no! Miss Chen, we don't use force!"

Sakuya jumps in the air, saying "in this case, miss Budou, force is the only choice", then throws a ridiculous amount of daggers at the blur.

Sakuya smiles, thinking she got Youmu, but all daggers simply return to her, making her dance in mid-air to avoid her own weapons.

After that, she gets annoyed and pulls out a spell card, saying "now, miss Youmu, those that do wrong HAVE to be punished! Sakuya's World!"

For Sakuya, everything turns black and white, and time stops immediately; everything except Youmu and Chen, who seem to be moving in slow motion, Chen looking as fierce as when she went out of control in the mansion, clawing at Youmu, who matches the claw attacks with her swords and defends herself without even breaking a sweat.

Sakuya watches as they continue moving, even though she has stopped time, then says "these girls. They are moving at such incredible speed. I see... I am sorry, my lady, but it seems this gardener has surpassed even myself."

Sakuya cancels her spell card and slowly floats down to Budou, who holds Reimu and Yukari while kneeling on the ground.

Sakuya stares at her and asks "are they alright?"

Budou shakes her head and says "no. They are fighting so hard against their own desire to simply play... They're so cold."

Reimu manages to gasp for air and says "s-stop them!"

Sakuya stares at Reimu, bends her body, then says "I'm sorry, Reimu. There's nothing we can do."

Budou stares back at Sakuya in silence, then looks at Chen and Youmu's blurs.

Youmu and Chen finally stop on the shrine's front yard, and Youmu, sounding calm and collected, says "Chen, you are a friend, but if you keep attacking me, will have to defend myself."

Chen's red aura burns like wild fire as the nekomata growls, her beautiful face, twisted, making her look like a demon.

She growls as she circles around Youmu, and sounding enraged, she shouts "YOU! You are doing this to me! You must die! YOU MUST DIE!"

Chen moves so fast, it seems as though she just teleported behind Youmu.

The half ghost simply sheathes her sword, saying "I will have to apologize to her and miss Ran later."

When her sword clicks in place, various cuts appear all over Chen's body, then the nekomata slowly falls down to the ground on her face, whispering "Ran-sama... it hurts", and finally falls with a loud thud.

* * *

Back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia and Suika run after Rika and Ran, who seem to always be one step ahead of them.

While Suika and Remilia continue to search the basement, Remilia shouting "I can still smell them. They are close by!", Ran and Rika run up the stairs to one of the mansion's corridors on the ground floor.

They giggle as they run around, holding hand and jumping in a circle, then both gasp in fright when one of the window bursts open on its own.

Ran seems to calm down, then asks "Chen? Is that you?"

Rika calms down as well, flaps her wings, then says "Chen. She needs us. We have to find Chen!"

After she stops flapping her wings, Rika and Ran start flying, then go right out the window.

Remilia spots them and shouts "HURRY! They're going outside!", and rushes straight to the window, followed closely by Suika.

Just as they reach the open window, a sheet of ice immediately blocks their exit.

Suika stares angrily at the sheet of ice and says "allow me", throwing a powerful punch that breaks the ice and sends the shattered remains straight toward Gensokyo's border, where the shatter after crashing against it.

Suika jumps toward the window, and again, another sheet of ice forms up, making the oni back away in time.

She clenches her teeth and says "now this is irritating", and winds up her punch to break through again.

When she throws the punch, it goes through the ice and exits through another window in the same corridor.

Remilia stares at the ice, then says "Reimu went after the wrong one."

Suika asks "what should we do now?"

Remilia's eyes glow scarlet, then smiles and says "come on. Let's help Flandre and Koakuma."

Remilia walks toward the basement, while Suika stomps on the ground and asks "what? But what about those..."

Before she finishes, Remilia stops, smiles calmly and says "don't worry. Everything will be settled very soon. I promise."

Again, Remilia walks toward the basement, while Suika stares at her for a few seconds, then rushes after her, saying "this old oni is really getting tired of this."

* * *

Back at the Netherworld, Youmu approaches the girls, keeping her eye on Sakuya, who keeps glaring at her through the corner of her eyes.

Youmu bends down to look at Reimu, then says "I don't know what's going on, but I'm not doing anything. All I'm trying to do is catch Yuyuko, Lunasa and Merlin, before they destroy the shrine."

Budou looks at Youmu, then asks "but why would miss Reimu suspect you? And what about miss Chen?"

Youmu looks behind herself through the corner of her eyes, then says "she'll survive, but she's going to be in a lot of pain. As for Reimu suspecting me..."

Youmu looks away, blushing in shame, and continues "I didn't want to go back to normal. After all, I am much more powerful and knowledgeable now. But... miss Yukari is right. I won't accomplish anything unless I truly finish with my training."

Budou looks into Youmu's eyes, but before she says anything, Reimu trembles as she holds her head and says "Cirno. It's Cirno! ... The cold winds... Suika told me to ignore them, but they were warning me."

Reimu manages to look up at Budou, then says "you are the only one of us that can hope to match her power now."

Fear takes Budou, evident in the terrorized look in her eyes. She shakes her head rapidly and says "but Reimu, how am I supposed to do this? I... I don't want to fight her!"

Yukari opens a gap to Budou's right and says "everyone else is occupied, and of all of us, you have a better chance of being heard."

Reimu walks toward the gap, suppressing her urge to run and scream with glee and says "besides, she doesn't like fighting that much either. You just need to talk."

Budou points at Sakuya and asks "what about miss Sakuya? Sh-she's better than me at this kind of thing!"

Sakuya sighs and says "it's true, I may be able to beat that fairy with my time-stopping abilities... but I believe I am needed here for now", then points at Chen on the ground.

Budou looks at Chen, then at Sakuya, then at Youmu, as if begging her to take her place, then she turns her attention at the exhausted faced of Yukari and Reimu, who stand right next to the open gap.

Budou sighs in defeat, then says "fine... I'll do it. I just hope you know what you are doing."

As Budou enters the gap, Reimu smiles and says "d-don't worry. We have the utmost confidence in you."

Budou smiles, then grabs the two little girls and enters the gap, which seems to close twice before disappearing.

Sakuya walks to Chen and pulls a first aid kit from under her apron, then Youmu looks at her and says with admiration "hey, nice. You came prepared."

Sakuya smiles and says "I'm a maid. Being prepared for anything is just part of the job."

Youmu stares curiously at Sakuya's apron, wondering how did she hide that box in there so well.

She smiles when Sakuya looks back and asks "what is it, miss?"

Youmu giggles and says "nothing. I better get inside. Yuyuko must be..."

Before she can finish, little Yuyuko crashes through a window, riding a silver washtub with Lunasa and Merlin, then they all slide straight toward the long stairs of the Netherworld, laughing hard and cheering happily.

Youmu opens her eyes wide and runs after them, shouting "YUYU-SAMA! You're going to get hurt!"

Lyrica peeks her head through the window, then asks Sakuya "which way did they go?"

Sakuya points to her left toward the stairs, then Lyrica jumps out the window with ropes, boxing gloves, and a set of kiddy books, then rushes after Youmu and the girls, saying "thanks."

Sakuya stares with surprise and says "I'm so glad my lady never behaves like that."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Misty Lake, above the Scarlet Mansion island, while Cirno floats just above the mansion and looks down to the ground with her eyes hiding under a dark shadow, the sky is turning dark and the full moon begins to rise.

Around the lake, on the other side of its shores, a large ice sheet that reaches all the way to the sky and beyond, keep Daiyousei and little Letty, who is running around Daiyousei with a smile on her face, away from Cirno, while the great fairy bangs on the ice wall with her fists, trying to call Cirno, though her voice doesn't even come through.

Cirno continues to look forward, her eyes still hidden in that dark shadow, then on the ground, with great effort, Yukari's gap opens up, after apparently trying to do so more than 3 times.

Budou, Reimu and Yukari drop out of the gap, and immediately after it closes, Yukari and Reimu spring to their feet, look at each other with a big smile, then Reimu declares "MUD FIGHT!"

They run away from Budou and head straight toward a small puddle of mud, but before they can reach it, a small ice sheet forms around it, making them go right through it.

Budou gets up and calls "Reimu, Yukari!"

She turns to Cirno with an angry expression and shouts "are you out of your mind? What did you do to them?"

With her eyes still under that shadow, she opens her frowning mouth and says "don't worry. They are inside the mansion. The vampires will take good care of them. This way, neither of us will be distracted."

Budou understands what Cirno means, fear filling her heart as she stares back at the ice fairy, then shouts "bu-but I don't want to fight you! Come on, all you have to do is let go! Allow yourself to go back to normal! That's all there is to it. There's no need to be fighting!"

A tear escapes Cirno as she starts showing her clenched teeth, growling softly and clenching her raised fist while she trembles.

She finally reveals her eyes, showing great sorrow as she shouts "oh sure! Let's go back to normal! Let me go back to that 'I'm the strongest' crap, to all that blundering of mine, thinking I'm all that when I can't even figure out how pathetic my own spells are!"

Budou looks back up and tries to find words to convince the ice fairy otherwise, however she can't think of a single thing to tell her.

Cirno's tears intensify as she raises her voice and says "I was a weak and pathetic being! All I did was freeze frogs, heaven knows why, and boast about how strong I really wasn't! Now I understand so many things! I have power, and I KNOW how to use it! Please, don't make me go back! I don't want to be that idiot again!"

Budou looks up and shouts "no, you're wrong! Sure, you made a few mistakes, and repeated most of them too, but you never gave up! Cirno, you have spirit, you have courage, and even Hakurei sis Reimu knows that!"

Cirno shouts "shut up! You just want to trick me!"

Budou immediately shouts back "no, I'm not! Sure, you can do amazing things now, but right now, at this very moment; Cirno, can you tell me where you heart is?"

Cirno gasps and opens her eyes wide, and while her tears continue to drop, she looks straight at Budou, who continues "Cirno, you're a very special fairy. You are strong, you have a heart, you have friends, and you can even remember things that other fairies forget after they sleep! Come on, ma-maybe after you return to normal you can remember all of this. Yeah, you can probably do all of this-"

Cirno cut Budou off by shooting a giant icicle in front of her, making it melt away as soon as it lands, and with a frown in her face, and her eyes covered in shadow again, she says "when by body returns to its younger self, my energy will diminish, and the chances of me even imagining how to do these spells are zero to none! So don't give me that useless lecture! Fight me! If you win, I give you my word, I'll allow everything return to normal!"

Budou opens her eyes wide, an on their refection, various icicles can be seen flying straight toward her.

Meanwhile, high above on the sky, an ice sheet forms up next to a rain cloud, and Rika and Ran fly right through it, following the pull on their hearts, coming across the large gate that leads to the Netherworld.

There, Ran knocks on the door and asks "Chen? Chen is there?"

Rika smiles and nods, then knocks on the door and calls "Chen! Play with Chen!"

Ran starts to cry and says "Chen is hurt! I want Chen!"

Rika flies to Ran and gives her a hug, then flaps her little wings and frowns, thinking they'll have to leave without the nekomata, but the door suddenly opens on its own, enough for them to get through.

Ran and Rika look at the door, then back at each other, gasp and smile, then fly inside as fast as they can.

* * *

Back at the island, Budou runs while breathing heavily as she avoids the giant icicles that fall hard on to the ground.

She finally finds a small rock formation with a small cave she can use for cover, and without hesitation, she jumps and slides into it, just as an icicle falls to the ground and covers the entrance.

From the air, Cirno shouts "this is not the way to fight! Come on! You can do better! Come on, use that power you keep hiding!"

Inside the tiny cave, Budou curls herself and hugs her knees while swaying back and forth, saying "fighting vampires and fiends is one thing, but this! Papa, how do you fight friends? I won't want to hurt her, but I don't want to stay like this either! What should I do?"

Suddenly, Budou's heart beats so strongly, Budou feels her entire body vibrate, and shortly after, a thin plate of ice cuts open a new entrance on the small cave's roof.

When she sees Budou she says "if you're not going to fight, then leave me be, and wait for the other to just... grow up again."

Budou flies out of the cave and reaches the same height as Cirno in just a moment.

She looks at Cirno with determined eyes, then says "you're not my smart sis Cirno. She'd never make me fight her over something so trivial!"

Cirno angrily asks "TRIVIAL? This is something very important to me, so how can you call it trivial?"

Budou summons energy to her own hands and says "and smart sis wouldn't be as selfish as you! Prepare yourself!"

Cirno stares back at Budou, but does not smile, then nods and says "that's the way."

Back at the Netherworld, Youmu manages to run past the girls, who are sliding down the long stairs while still inside the washtub, and waits for them to catch them as they slide down.

She smiles confidently as she positions herself, then gets distracted by Ran and Rika, who fly above her, little Ran saying "Chen, we're coming, so be ok!"

Rika adds "Chen is this way, so up, up we go!"

Youmu stares at them and asks "wait, Ran and that maid? Where are those two going?"

She forgets the washtub-slide, and by the time she looks to the stairs, the empty washtub strikes her forehead with a loud clang and knocks her down, while the three little girls that were inside it just moments ago chase after Rika and Ran.

Youmu cries as she holds her forehead with both her hands, then says to herself "focus, Youmu. Focus!"

* * *

Above the Scarlet Mansion, danmaku lasers and icicles crash with might, as Budou and Cirno begin their battle.

Budou's thick green lasers crash against Cirno's giant icicles, showing how evenly matched the two of them really are.

Three icicles and two lasers make it past the girls' defenses, so Cirno summons an ice shield and turns Budou's beams into water, while Budou flicks her wings to deflect two of the icicles, then claps hard to shatter the third with a quick shockwave.

Cirno glares back at Budou, then pulls out a spell card and says "I truly am impressed. You've made me use this already, and we've only just begun."

Budou shouts "Cirno, please! Just stop this!"

Cirno smiles as a tear runs through her cheek, then says "It's too late. Draw your spell card, heh, and win this. Freeze sign, Perfect Freeze!"

Budou opens her eyes wide and tries to fly away as fast as she can, but she stops herself by thinking "Budou, now is not the time! Papa and mama need you! Do this for them!"

She turns around, only to come face to face with such a large concentration of multicolored orbs, she thinks she's looking at a rainbow that has been shattered into countless pieces.

The gaps between bullets are very narrow, but Budou stands her ground and thinks "just like miss Yukari said in that email... Draw and believe!"

Budou pulls out a spell card, but before declaring her spell, she concentrates some purple energy in her right hand and draws an octagon.

The octagon spins around and splits into five more octagons, all spinning unevenly, some spinning counter-clockwise.

When Cirno's spell reaches Budou, the octagons serve as a perfect shield, and all of Cirno's bullets turn to nothing upon contact with the it.

After the initial bullets stop moving, they all turn white, and a giant sheet of ice forms around them and Budou, freezing everything, but the shield, in place.

The ice sheet disappears and the bullets slowly fall down like snow, some falling from above Budou's head, making her move slightly, then Budou sighs and says "please, forgive me, Cirno, but you left me with no other choice."

Budou lifts her spell card and says "for papa and mama... The Song of the Heart – Revelation!"

Just as Cirno prepares for her second wave of attack, Budou starts to sing in a single tone.

When the sound reaches Cirno, the ice fairy finds herself unable to move and asking herself "what? What's going on? An ice fairy being frozen?"

Suddenly, Cirno remembers when she was younger, and her powers weren't as developed.

The other fairies didn't trust her, but being more powerful than them also gave them a sense of security, so they kept her close as well.

She then remembers meeting Daiyousei and how quickly they became friends after exchanging quick greetings.

She suddenly remembers when she became powerful enough to have her own spell cards, and remembers the humiliating defeat the shrine maiden in red and white, and the witch in black and white caused her when they defeated her so easily.

She remembers meeting Letty Whiterock and having a few battles against her before she finally accepted her friendship.

She relives the pain she feels every time Letty leaves to sleep until the next winter, the pain of losing against Marisa so frequently, even though she tries her best, and the pain of being feared by other fairies, regardless of her efforts to befriend them.

By now, Cirno's tears fall without pause, and while this happens, light-green musical notes surround her, all set like a giant grid, then they explode into light-green shards that move in a straight, triangular pattern.

By now, Budou notices the tears in Cirno's eyes, so she desperately calls for the ice fairy, canceling her own spell, allowing Cirno to fall down to the ground.

After landing, Budou runs desperately toward the ice fairy calling "Cirno! Cirno, I'm sorry! Cirno!"

She finds Cirno sitting with her back against a tree, sobbing while hugging her knees, and after a sigh of relief, she walks to her, saying "Cirno, there you are! I'm so glad!"

Cirno sobs loudly, then says "y-you lost *sniffle*. Yo-you cancelled your own *sob* spell card! I... I'm not changing back."

Budou sighs and says "please, Cirno..."

Cirno lifts her head to look at Budou, but before she speaks, Budou's chest begins to glow gold, and from inside, sleeping inside a diamond-shaped jewel, Phredia exits Budou's heart and presents herself to Cirno, who stares at her with worry, saying "wha? Who are you? You poor thing, what happened to you?"

Budou adds "Phredia! Is this where you've been all this time? What happened to you? I was so worried!"

Phredia opens her eyes and surrounds the immediate area in a white light, and her little voice starts to echo.

She gets closer to Cirno and says "my lady, it's so nice to finally see you again! And Budou, I'm so sorry."

Cirno stares at Phredia and asks "what's this all about? And why do you speak as though you know me?"

Phredia replies "all in due time, my lady. Please, listen to me now. This spell, ever since it was cast, I had to seal myself in here in order to avoid turning into nothing, but now I can't get out, and the only way I can, is if you, my lady, let go of your ego and just allow the spell to vanish. Please, I need to go outside, to nature! I am famished! But if I try to break the seal now..."

Cirno starts to cry louder, saying "no~ There's got to be another way! Please, give me some time and I'll..."

Phredia immediately says "if I wait for another day, I will die, and then, who's going to assist miss Budou and you? Please, I know it's hard to understand, but there are many experiences you have yet to go through before you can reach your peak."

Budou sighs and says "that's right. You... we aren't ready for this, sis. Remember how you lost control against the vampire. Think of miss Letty. Even though it's summer, she can't fall asleep. Think about how selfish you are being now."

Phredia continues "my lady, there will be a time for you. You will know only happiness, but you can't just skip the lessons you need to learn in order to get there. Be strong. After all, you are the strongest fairy, right?"

Cirno continues to cry, rubbing her eyes while looking away from Budou and Phredia, then Phredia's white energy disappears and Cirno starts glowing brightly.

Her body slowly shrinks, and after it returns to its original state, like a flash, the light flies all over Gensokyo, covering the land in what appears to be an instant, but the moment the flash stops, all the ice orbs and ice walls shatter and melt.

Cirno continues to cry, giving in to the sharp pain in her heart after having let go of something so important to her.

By now, Phredia is free from her seal, and Budou is back to her normal size.

The little bat approaches Cirno and kneels next to her, and almost automatically, Cirno jumps on her and cries on her chest.

Phredia gently pats Cirno on the head, while Budou wraps her with her wings, doing her best to comfort the little ice fairy.

* * *

Inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, in the great library, Remilia cheers after returning to normal by screaming at the top of her lungs, ripping off her bra from under her shirt and setting it on fire with her Spear of the Gungnir.

Flandre squeals and loudly says "DIE, YOU EVIL BRA~ HA-HA-HA~", and just like Remilia, she rips her bra off from under her shirt, but instead of juts burning it, she tosses it in the air and clenches her hand toward it, repeating "kyun~" five times, turning the bra into microscopic particles.

Koakuma sighs and says "well, she's not as cute anymore...", then Patchouli, who has returned to her normal self, stares at her, then Koakuma smiles and continues "but I guess she's still cute in her own way."

Ail pushes himself up from the ground, even though Sanae lies on his back, then says "well, that was a wild ride."

Sanae kneels beside him and checks her own chest, then releases her shirt and jumps on Ail with a hug, saying "yay! I'm cute again!"

Ail hugs her back with a smile and says "you're always cute!"

That earns him an even bigger hug and a kiss, and while this happens, Marisa stands up from the ground and looks at them in disgust, then says "ugh! You two are even more disgusting now."

Alice is helped back to her feet by Shanghai and Hourai, both looking dreadfully tired while doing so, so Alice grabs them both and gives them a hug, saying "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

At first, Shanghai and Hourai get a bit frightened, but when they feel Alice warm embrace, they calm down and pat her arms, and sounding drained, Hourai says "it's alright, mama. We're just glad... you are back."

Reimu and Yukari find themselves on Suika's arms, the oni, though little in stature again, holds them both effortlessly, saying "welcome back, you two! Now if you'll excuse me..."

She drops them on the ground on their feet, then grabs her gourd and continues "I have earned a night of PARTY~"

Reimu and Yukari look around and see everything is back to normal in the mansion, then smile at each other, and Reimu says "let's go pick Chen and Sakuya up."

Yukari smiles back, giggles playfully, then says "after you, miss shrine maiden."

* * *

At the Netherworld, little Rika and little Ran find Chen being treated by Sakuya on a white sheet on the ground.

Rika and Ran scream at the same time "CHEN!", and run straight toward the maid and nekomata.

Just as they reach them, like a flash, they all return to their normal selves, and Chen, having so many injuries, turns back into a cat.

Ran desperately calls for Chen, almost pushing Sakuya away by force, but Rika places her hand in front of the kitsune and says "it's alright, miss Ran."

She gently grabs Chen and surrounds the nekomata with a soothing light-blue light, then says "thank you, miss Sakuya."

Chen starts to purr on Rika's hands, making Ran sigh with relief, then turns to Sakuya and says "sorry, miss Sakuya, and thank you for treating my Chen."

Sakuya smiles and says "she'll be fine in a couple of hours."

Rika presses Chen against her chest, making her purr even stronger, then the little nekomata raises her head to Ran and meows softly.

Ran smiles widely and pats Chen on the head, then gently grabs Chen from Rika's hands.

As soon as she does, Ran smiles at Rika and says "thank you for all you have done, miss Rika."

Rika, surprised by the gratitude, asks "wait, what? What are you talking about?"

Ran smiles and she gives Rika a light hug along with Chen and says "you saved my Chen from so many misfortunes. We both thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

As they hug Rika, back at the Hakurei Shrine, the crystal on Rika's family sword glows intense blue twice.

Back at the Netherworld, Youmu, Yuyuko, Lunasa and Merlin watch from the stairs at the scene, all smiling and feeling warmly inside.

Yuyuko stares at Youmu and pats her head, then asks "so Youmu, how do you feel?"

Youmu looks up at Yuyuko and smiles, then says "honestly, I am glad I'm back to normal. I actually feel much better."

Yuyuko giggles, and in a whimsical tone of voice, she says "good, good. Then get ready to receive your punishment for talking back to me."

Youmu smiles nervously, her hair stands on ends, and her cheeks turn blue as she says "heh... heh, heh, I see. I... guess it can't be helped."

Yukari's gap opens right next to Sakuya, then Yukari and Reimu pop their heads form inside, happy to see everything is back to normal over there as well.

Smiling, Reimu waves at the ghosts, and after they wave back, she looks at Sakuya, then Rika, Ran and Chen, then asks "ready to go home?"

Rika nods along with the others, then asks "wait, how is miss Budou?"

Reimu gasps and exclaims "crap! We forgot about Budou! Yukari!"

Yukari giggles and says "I'll see you later, Yuyuko~"

As soon as they leave, Lunasa looks around and asks "hey, where's Lyrica?"

From one of the trees, only a few steps away from the top stairs, Lyrica calls "hey~ Can you guys help me out already?"

The rope she had got tangled up around the tree's branches, and somehow ended up tangling herself up along with it.

Merlin stares at her with mischievous eyes, then says "hah! She's all tied up at the moment!"

Everyone laughs except for Lyrica, who flails angrily while shouting "cut the stupid jokes and get me OUT of here already!"

* * *

At the Scarlet Mansion island, Yukari's gap opens up, and immediately after it does, Reimu, Rika and Sakuya jump out, and just before it closes up again, Yukari playfully says "see you later Reimu~", then Ran adds "see you all later! Thanks for everything, Rika!"

Rika blushes, then Reimu urges her to hurry up.

They run toward the lake's shore and immediately find Remilia, Ail, Sanae, Alice and Marisa standing there while looking toward a particular tree.

Fear takes both Reimu's and Rika's hearts, so they rush toward them.

Ail and Marisa immediately turn around and signal Reimu and Rika to keep quiet, then slowly turn around again.

Reimu and Rika fear something terrible happened, but when they look ahead, they find Daiyousei and Letty crouching next to Budou, who places the sleeping Cirno on Letty's hands, while Phredia flies around them.

Reimu softly asks "what happened?"

Remilia replies "she had power, and the knowledge to use it all, yet she lacked the experience needed. In the end, it cost her dearly to give all that up. Such is the hand of fate."

Rika asks "but will she be alright?"

Budou approaches the small group, watching how Alice holds on to the sleeping Hourai and Shanghai, then looks at Remilia and bows, then looks at Reimu and Rika and just sighs and smiles.

She walks to Ail and Sanae, who pick her up together, then she says "I want to make sure she's ok."

Ail asks "she took it that badly, huh?"

Budou looks seriously at Ail and says "it's like she lost herself entirely. It was horrible. Papa, mama, Reimu-sis, Rika, miss Remilia, if it's alright, I'd like to keep her company. Maybe visit her as often as I can."

Everybody nods, including Remilia, who says "Sakuya, you will allow them entrance to the mansion."

Sakuya bows and says "it will be done, my lady."

Budou smiles and says "I don't think..."

Remilia interrupts Budou, saying "it's all fate, my dear."

Budou smiles at Remilia and nods.

She turns her attention to Alice and Marisa, then says "miss Alice, be sure to thank them. And miss Marisa, if you plan to pick on Cirno, know that I will be there to interfere."

Marisa chuckles and says "well, I get to have double the fun, da-ze."

Ail and Sanae smile almost too friendly toward Marisa, but Budou smiles and simply replies "you won't know what hit you."

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, all the way to Meiling's room, Meiling wakes up and finds herself sleeping underneath her bed.

After pushing herself and the bed up, and manages to stand up, she looks around at the terrible mess in her room.

Sheets torn, her lamp shattered in the ground, her cabinet turned over, and her door full of drawings of suns and rainbows, along with some doodles of herself, Flandre, Sakuya, Remilia, Patchouli, and even Koakuma, as well as many of the fairy maids.

At first, she thinks of screaming in surprise, but after looking at the doodles for a little longer, she just smiles and chuckles, then says "I think I like this one."

* * *

The next morning, at the Misty Lake's shore in the Scarlet island, while Daiyousei and many other fairies play above the water, Cirno sits under a tree, curled into a small, icicle winged ball, hugging her knees while looking at the water with a depressed look on her face.

Daiyousei approaches Cirno and says "come on, Cirno-chan! Come and play with us!"

Cirno raises her eyes to meet Daiyousei's, then looks back down and turns slightly to the left.

Daiyousei sighs, then says "C-Cirno-chan. Cirno-chan hates me!"

Cirno raises her head and desperately says "no! I don't hate you, Dai-chan! I'm just-!"

Before Cirno can finish, Daiyousei cries and flies away, so the little ice fairy drops back down and resumes her sulking.

Budou stands behind her, with Phredia flying around Budou's right shoulder, looking like a little star next to the little bat youkai.

Budou clears her throat to get Cirno's attention, but the little ice fairy simply says to her "I know you are there already. Just tell me what you want."

Budou places her hand on Cirno's shoulder, then pulls her up by her shirt and flies away with her.

Cirno struggles to break free and shouts "what the heck do you want with me? Let me go! I'll freeze you!"

Budou smiles and says "if you fly with me, I'll let you go."

Cirno stops struggling and quiets down, then Budou shrugs and continues her flight.

Cirno looks down and can see Daiyousei looking up at her with hopeful eyes, so Cirno turns her head and sees Kimi holding Kali in a head-lock, punching her head continually, shouting "you're paying back in SPADES!"

Moments later, they fly above the Human Village, where Budou says "look down there. See what your sacrifice did? You returned all those lives."

From above, they can see Maribel and Renko waving at Kyo and Luna, who hold Medicine as though she was their child.

Farther ahead, near the center of the town, they spot Keine standing in front of the shy Mokou, while a few adults and children smile at her, some signaling her to get closer, while Keine simply smiles gleefully.

Cirno crosses her arms and pouts, then says "big deal."

Budou giggles and says "come on, let's see some more."

They fly over the Forest of Magic, where they see Rinnosuke inviting Tokiko for a meal, and shortly after, three little fairies pop out of nowhere to join them.

At first, it seems like Rinnosuke will kick them out, but he suddenly smiles and invites them to sit on the mysterious picnic table that keeps appearing out of nowhere.

At Alice's house, they can see Shanghai and Hourai being followed by a line of dolls, all carrying one piece of firewood back inside the house, while Alice seems to argue with Marisa about something, though Marisa just smiles and looks away.

Shortly after, Budou, Cirno and Phredia fly above the Bamboo Forest and spot the mansion of Eintei.

On the mansion's front yard, Tewi is pulling Reisen out of one of her own pitfall traps, while Eirin walks out of her clinic with a dangerous smile on her face and holding a flask with a glowing green liquid.

Kaguya sits on the mansion's porch, looking up and waving at Cirno, Budou and Phredia as they pass by.

Budou smiles and waves back, just as Yorihime, Toyohime, Mystia and Wriggle walk outside, then very suddenly, Reisen 2 runs out with a fly swatter, making Wriggle run in circles around the front yard, both falling into another pitfall trap.

By now, Cirno is flying on her own, following Budou closely.

She looks at Budou and asks "what am I supposed to see here? It's just some strangers in their homes."

Budou giggles, then says "come on, let's watch some more. It's fun to watch, isn't it?"

Cirno looks uninterested as she says "yeah, well... sorta."

Budou giggles, then they all suddenly find themselves flying over the Garden of the Sun.

Cirno spots Yuka's small house and says "hey, it's that flower youkai lady."

Kurumi is hiding from the sun under the sunflowers after her own parasol broke to pieces.

She trembles and cries, thinking she's going to die, but Yuka arrives just in time with her own parasol, grabbing Kurumi and smiling as she picks her up.

After they are close enough to the house's shadow, Yuka tosses the vampire back inside the house through a window, breaking it in the process.

From inside, Elly runs toward Yuka and tries to hug her, just to get stomped on the face long before she can wrap her arms around the flower youkai.

Cirno lets a quick chuckle escape her, but when she realizes it, she suppresses herself, then says "i-it's just a little funny. That's all!"

Budou and Phredia smile, then Budou says "come on, let's go eat something."

One of Ail's gaps opens up in front of them, then they find themselves at the Moriya Shrine, where Budou lands softly, but Cirno crashes against the shrine's wall, missing the entrance by centimeters.

* * *

After eating lunch, Budou, Phredia and Cirno head out of the shrine, then Budou shouts "thanks for lunch mama. See you later, papa~"

Cirno reluctantly says "er, yes... thanks for... that."

As they lift up to the sky, Cirno notices Suwako and Kanako having a drink with Aya, Momiji and even Hatate, who tries to keep as far away as she can from the two goddesses.

Cirno can't help but smile at the sight, but frowns again and continues following Budou.

At the river in the Youkai forest, Hina, and the Rabid Karate Night Sparrow help Nitori set up a strange machine that looks like a net that crosses right through the water.

As soon as Nitori presses a button, the water that passes through the net becomes much cleaner and crystalline, but something goes wrong, as expected, and the machine starts spewing smoke, making the water turn pink instead.

Nitori thrashes about, flailing her arms and frantically swimming all around, trying to turn her machine off.

Cirno can't help but laugh at the sight, then asks "Budou girl, what is this?"

Budou smiles and says "all this you are seeing is that which could have disappeared. If you hadn't made the right choice, all of this would have just stopped, and all the kids would probably be making a mess of things everywhere."

While Budou speaks, Cirno sees Rumia patting Agava's head, making her blush and look away while Rumia suddenly bites her head, getting smacked on the head by Agava's fist.

A little farther ahead, she sees Minoriko and Shizuha, just talking to each other and laughing heartily.

Budou continues "if you hadn't done what you did, the adults would be frowning at the sound of your name. Everybody would have set themselves against you. The point I'm trying to make here is, even though you sacrificed something so important to you, it is not lost, Cirno. Just... dormant. Yes, that's what papa Ail said."

As Budou speaks, Shinki in Pandemonium smiles widely as Yuki uses her fireballs to make animals that run and fly all around the air, while Mai simply stares with a half-smile, and Yumeko glares at the mess cause by the fire.

At the gate of Makai, Sara dances around, practicing her danmaku patterns, while Luize smiles widely and fires a single laser that knocks Sara down.

At the Netherworld, The Prismriver sisters play music for Yuyuko while she eats, and outside the shrine, Youmu looks dreadfully tired, running back and forth, tending to the gardens an Yuyuko's sudden commands.

Back at the skies, Budou suddenly says "Cirno, look. I saved the best sight for last."

Cirno looks down to the Myouren temple, where Minamitsu smiles defiantly at Chiyuri, who has her long, blonde hair made into twin tails, and defiantly smiles back as well, both pressing their foreheads against each other and pushing hard, while Unzan rubs his bald head and Ichirin blushes while she throws a pair of fake pointy ears into a small fire.

Kogasa and Nue sit on the roof, simply swaying around with smiles on their faces while apparently singing.

Shou and Nazrin seem to be frantically searching for something all over the surrounding area of the temple, and Byakuren happily uses some spells for Yumemi to admire and try to study, making the scientist clap and gasp in amazement when some of the danmaku explodes near her.

Cirno asks "what's so interesting about this?"

Budou stops and wraps her arm around Cirno, then points at the immediate patch of soil in front of the temples entrance.

There, with bright and vibrant color, are the flowers brought to live by Cirno's own shield.

The flowers have been divided into many flowerbeds, but they all remain looking as strong as if they were living there forever.

Cirno gasps at the sight, leaving her mouth open in awe, then Budou says "you see? There's no need to get depressed. Those powers are not gone, Cirno. Maybe you don't have the energy to do all those amazing things now, but you will. You just have to live. And if it's alright, I'd like to be your friend, and be with you all the time I can."

Cirno finally closes her mouth and stares blankly at Budou and Phredia, then nods.

Budou happily smiles, then giggles as she says "great! Then you and I can get even stronger together."

Cirno finally shows her confident smile again, then proudly says "yeah! Yeah, you're right! I am the strongest... fairy... the strongest fairy after all."

Meanwhile, inside the hidden laboratory, Rikako smiles with a crazed look on her face while she uses a baseball bat to strike as many machines as she can, while Kyo's shadow tries his best to keep her from destroying everything.

There is a loud explosion that gets Cirno, Budou and Phredia's attention, and after staring at the thin smoke cloud rise to the sky, they all look at each other and laugh, then fly to the Misty Lake.

Meanwhile, down at the cave leading t the subterranean world, Yamame holds Kisume's bucket, making her giggle as she swings the tsurube-otoshi around.

Further inside, Yuugi and some other oni laugh heartily as the drunken Parsee swings her finger at them, saying "I'm sho... jealoush of ye all."

And further inside, at the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Koishi watches as Orin and Okuu work diligently on their duties, while Satori watches them from a window, smiling as she holds little petal on her arms, who is in her animal form, and as she pets the raven, she softly says "and everything continues as it should."

* * *

The next morning, at the Hakurei Shrine.

Rika trains with her sword out in the back of the shrine, cutting wooden dummies while zipping past them at insane speeds.

After she cuts through the last of the dummies, she stops and swipes the sweat off her face with a small towel while sheathing her sword, then realizes she has company.

Clapping while getting closer to her is Keine, who holds a letter on her hand.

She approaches Rika and says "well, that's impressive. You seem to be getting better and better."

Rika smiles and says "phew! Thanks. I need to keep in top shape if I am to help my lady."

Keine waves the letter in front of Rika, who asks "and what is this?"

Keine smiles and says "you've been invited to the mansion of miss Hieda. She wishes to interview you."

Rika asks with surprise "me? Why me?"

Keine smiles as she replies "now miss Rika, where's the fun in telling you?"

Rika stares at Keine with confusion, but simply decides to open the letter herself.

Meanwhile, at the shrine's front, Budou and Ail donate some money, ring the bell, then pray.

After clapping their hands and bowing, Reimu smiles as she stands behind them and asks "so, how is she?"

Budou gasps and smiles, then excitedly runs to Reimu and gives her a hug, exclaiming "Hakurei sis!"

Ail smiles back at Reimu and says "thanks to Budou, she's doing much better. Though I must admit that it really hurt me to see her like that."

Reimu frowns and says "yeah. It's not something you see often."

Budou frowns and looks away with her eyes hiding under a dark shadow, then says "it... wasn't easy asking her to do that. It was like asking her to take her own life away."

Ail grabs Budou from behind and gives her a hug, making her smile and giggle again, then says "cheer up. Soon she'll realize she just got a second chance in life. I mean, who gets to be a grownup and return to being a kid with all that knowledge, huh?"

Budou laughs and says "yeah, I guess you're right papa."

Reimu giggles, then says "come on, I'll make breakfast today. As thanks to Budou for all her help!"

Out of nowhere, Ayalina jumps on Ail's back, crying "no~ He's all grown up again! I wanted to hold him a little longer!"

While this happens, on the shrine's roof, Suika and Mima lie with a smile on their backs, seemingly drunk, then Suika says "yup. Everything is as it should be."

Mima sighs and replies "oh yea."

Meanwhile, down at the Misty Lake, an orb of semi-frozen water floats just above the water and slowly moves to the shore.

It lands on a hand and starts to glow light blue.

After the glowing stops, an almost perfect ice figure of Daiyousei's head, arms, torso and wings forms up, followed by an eager giggle.

The hand places the figure next to another ice figure of Letty, though this one only has the head, torso and part of the arms, then Cirno smiles widely as she raises her hand toward the water and manages to summon about 20 more of those orbs from under the water, then looks at the water and the orbs and with a confident smile, she says "I am the strongest!"

* * *

The end

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Agava, Kyo, Luna, the RKNS (Rabid Karate Night Sparrow), Ayalina, Kimi and Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Budou's "The Song of the Heart, Revelation" spell card was created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

JUL 7 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**And so we come to a close. Really, what did you think of this ending? As I wrote it, I felt relieved for Cirno. It's not often we see her like that, really. It broke my heart to do that. Thank goodness she's so strong, huh? Now she also has Budou and Phredia to play with. Really, I am glad I did this in the end. So now I ask you, how did you like this in general (ignoring the whole, 'This dude made Cirno cry, kill him now' thing). Oh, and just so you know, from this ending, another spin off comes, so look forward to it. **

**You know, I actually finished this chapter in 8 hours. I just couldn't stop writing! I mean, I took a few breaks, but I just couldn't stop writing it. Definitely enjoyed writing this one as well. Ah well, I'm talking too much now. Hope you enjoyed the story, take care, and see you next time, if the spirits will allow.**


End file.
